Proceedings of the Regional Workshop on Post-Tsunami Rehabilitation of Fishing Communities and Fisheries- based Livelihoods, 18-19 January 2006, Chennai, India

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Proceedings

Regional Workshop on Post-tsunami Rehabilitation of ishing Communities and isheries-based Livelihoods 18 and 19 January 2006 Chennai, India

International Collective in Support of ishworkers (ICS) 27 College Road, Chennai 600 006, India www.icsf.net Regional Workshop on Post-tsunami Rehabilitation of ishing Communities and isheries-based Livelihoods 18 and 19 January 2006, Chennai, India

Proceedings

March 2006

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Published by International Collective in Support of )ishworkers 27 College Road, Chennai 600 006, India Tel: +91 44 2827 5303 )ax: +91 44 2825 4457 Email: [email protected] http://www.icsf.net

Copyright © ICS) 2006

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The opinions and positions expressed in this publication are those of the authors concerned and do not necessarily represent the official views of ICS). Contents

Preface ...... 1

Proceedings ...... 2

Country Reports

Indonesia ...... 27

Sri Lanka ...... 65

Thailand...... 101

India ...... 159

India Special Study ...... 211

Recommendations ...... 245

Appendix 1: Workshop Programme ...... 248

Appendix 2: NGO Meeting Programme...... 250

Appendix 3: NGO Meeting Report ...... 251

Appendix 4: ield Trip Programme...... 259

Appendix 5: List of Participants ...... 260

Preface

ishing communities, occupying the very margins of the land mass as it were, were among the worst affected in the Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December 2004. Apart from significant losses of life and injury, fishing communities reported loss of houses, craft, gear, equipment and other means of livelihoods. The period since then has seen considerable mobilization of aid towards relief and rehabilitation of all affected communities. To obtain a comprehensive understanding of the interventions that have taken place to rehabilitate the fisheries sector and communities dependent on fisheries and to identify the issues and challenges emerging, ICS commissioned studies in four countries, namely, Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and India, in October 2005. A particular area of interest was to understand the role, if any, that had been played by traditional institutions in fishing communities in mediating tsunami relief and rehabilitation, with a view to assessing the potential role of these institutions in longer-term rehabilitation and resource management. These studies were presented at the Regional Workshop on Post- tsunami Rehabilitation of ishing Communities and isheries-based Livelihoods, held in Chennai, India on 18 and 19 January 2006, with the participation of fishworker organizations, Non-Governmental Organizations, policymakers and representatives of multilateral agencies, from India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia and Maldives. A one-day NGO meeting was held prior to this, on 17 January, to enable organizations working with fishing communities in tsunami rehabilitation to share experiences and learn from one another. The meeting was also meant to identify some of the key issues/challenges emerging for longer-term rehabilitation, drawing on the country-level studies, and to put forth recommendations on basic issues that need to be addressed by ongoing rehabilitation interventions. These recommendations were presented to the workshop on 19 January 2006, and have since been widely circulated. This publication, which contains the proceedings of the workshop, the reports of the country studies, and the recommendations made at the workshop, will be useful to those engaged in the post- tsunami rehabilitation of fishing communities. It is hoped that it will also influence the course of rehabilitation in ways that benefit small- scale fishing communities and help improve their livelihoods in the long term.

1 Proceedings

Proceedings

INTRODUCTION Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia and Maldives. It was Background and Rationale aimed to: The tsunami that struck countries in the Indian Ocean - analyze the status of rehabilitation efforts in the region on 26 December 2004 caused severe damage fisheries sector and fishing communities; and to life and livelihood. The impact on fishing - identify issues that need to be addressed in communities in affected countries was particularly ongoing rehabilitation projects vis-à-vis the severe. Apart from loss of life and injury, many fisheries sector for sustaining livelihoods in the households dependent on fisheries lost their houses, longer term. craft, gear, equipment and other means of livelihoods. A one-day meeting of fishworker organizations and Estimates indicated that damages to the fishing and NGOs working with fishing communities in tsunami- aquaculture industry were substantial, to the order of affected countries was held on 17 January, prior to US$568 mn in India, US$511 mn in Indonesia, the regional workshop. The meeting was meant to: US$335 mn in Sri Lanka, about US$139 mn in Thailand and about US$25 mn in Maldives. - provide an opportunity for participants from It is well known that while natural disasters make various countries to share experiences and learn no distinction, the ability to face them and recover from one another; and from them differs substantially, depending on the - enable participants to agree on basic issues that social, economic, environmental and political reality. need to be addressed by ongoing rehabilitation Clearly, the damage from the Indian Ocean tsunami interventions, some of which are likely to be was much greater than it should have been, because country-specific. of certain underlying realities facing fishing NGO Meeting communities along the coast. The one-day NGO meeting was held at the YWCA If longer-term resilience to natural disasters has Conference Hall, Chennai. The programme for the to be increased, rehabilitation interventions would meeting can be found in Appendix 2 and a report on need to take into account, and address, issues requiring the meeting is in Appendix 3. A total of 50 delegates interventions of a longer-term nature. participated in the meeting. The meeting enabled To obtain a comprehensive understanding of the organizations working with fishing communities to interventions that have taken place to rehabilitate the share experiences and to learn from one another. It fisheries sector and communities dependent on also took stock of rehabilitation interventions and fisheries and to identify the emerging issues/challenges, agreed on some basic issues that need to be addressed ICS commissioned studies in four countries, namely, by ongoing rehabilitation interventions, keeping in Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and India, in October mind the fact that rehabilitation initiatives by NGOs, 2005. In addition to these four studies, ICS also multilateral agencies and governments are still commissioned a study in India on “The Role of underway. These recommendations were presented Traditional Panchayats in Coastal ishing Communities to the workshop on 19 January 2006. in Tamil Nadu, with Special Reference to their Role in Mediating Tsunami Relief and Rehabilitation.” Regional Workshop These studies were presented at the Regional The regional workshop was organized at the IMAGE Workshop on Post-tsunami Rehabilitation of ishing Auditorium, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. A total Communities and isheries-based Livelihoods held in Chennai, of 90 persons, primarily from the tsunami-affected India on 18 and 19 January 2006. The workshop countries of Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and provided a constructive space for dialogue between Thailand, participated in the workshop. They included fishworker organizations, NGOs, policymakers and representatives from fishworker organizations, NGOs representatives of multilateral agencies, from India, and multilateral organizations such as the ood and

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Agriculture Organization of the United Nations active links with other such centres in the rench and (AO), the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank Spanish-speaking regions. ICS has also been (ADB) and the United Nations Development organizing workshops for small-scale fishworkers and Programme (UNDP). Government representatives NGOs, providing a constructive space for dialogue from all the above countries also participated in the between fishworker organizations, NGOs, scientists, workshop. The complete list of participants can be governments, researchers and others. The present found in Appendix 5. workshop was in line with this, Chandrika Sharma The workshop programme (see Appendix 1) said in conclusion. included presentations of the country-level studies, Chairperson’s Address: R. Santhanam, Special followed by discussions in the plenary. Multilateral Commissioner and Commissioner for agencies present provided an overview of their work Revenue Administration and State and proposed future interventions. In a panel Relief Commissioner, Government of discussion, representatives of governments and Tamil Nadu, India NGOs highlighted their future priorities for tsunami rehabilitation work. The recommendations from the R. Santhanam said the workshop was being organized NGO meeting were also presented. at the right time, just over a year after the tsunami disaster struck the State, which is a good time to take ield Visit stock of the situation, review the state of rehabilitation The programme for the three-day field visit, from 20 efforts, identify issues that need to be addressed, and to 22 January, is in Appendix 4. The field visit chalk out issues for the implementation of projects provided participants with an exposure to post- that are sustainable in the long run. tsunami interventions as related to house construction, Santhanam congratulated ICS on the reports habitat restoration, appropriate technologies, brought out. He complimented, in particular, the alternative employment and co-ordination of aid, author of the India study for covering the entire gamut taking place in the districts of Nagapattinam and of fisheries rehabilitation, and for the indepth analysis Villupuram in the State of Tamil Nadu, India, through of significant issues in the rehabilitation process, interactions with government officials, women’s self- namely, relief and compensation, livelihood help groups, NGOs and fishing communities. restoration, relocation, role of institutions like fishermen’s panchayats in India, the problem of surplus INAUGURAL SESSION boats, the dilemma of workers-turned-owners, and Welcome: Chandrika Sharma, Executive Secretary, the rights of fisherwomen in the changed structure International Collective in Support of and scenario. ishworkers (ICS) Santhanam also referred to various other studies, Welcoming the participants to the workshop, including those brought out by the Tata Institute of Chandrika Sharma, Executive Secretary of ICS, gave Social Sciences (TISS), the ritz Institute, the South a short background about the organization, which was India Producers’ Association (SIPA) and others, formed in 1986 to defend the interests of the small- pointing out that such studies undertaken by scale fisheries sector, particularly in the developing independent organizations, made useful and important world, and to ensure their participation in important contributions towards providing directions to the decision-making processes affecting their lives. An rehabilitation processes, and identifying corrective important part of ICS’s work is to make available actions, wherever necessary. information for, and about, small-scale fishworkers He drew attention to the fact that the tsunami to bring greater visibility to the sector, through its disaster was the worst in living memory with the largest Documentation Centre. Towards this end, ICS brings proportion of the damage concentrated in fisheries, out various publications, such as SAMUDRA Report. housing and infrastructure. He said that it was not A more recent initiative is the SAMUDRA News Alerts surprising that there was a greater focus on fishers that go out free to subscribers all over the world on a during the relief and rehabilitation process. The daily basis. The Documentation Centre also maintains Government of Tamil Nadu not only concentrated

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on fishers but also took into account the requirement (ii) Relocation of other affected sections like small and marginal The State Relief Commissioner said that the Chief farmers, agricultural labourers, businessmen, petty Minister of Tamil Nadu had announced a well-thought traders, orphaned children, adolescent girls, students policy on housing in March 2005. The fishing and various other categories of people, and provided communities in the tsunami-affected areas were faced relief packages to every category. Just as ICS has with a difficult situation of deciding between safety commissioned studies for improving the lot of fishers, and livelihoods. He said that while the safety concerns similar studies by others on other affected groups required them to go inland, their livelihood interests would be appreciated, as the common objective is to forced them to be at the shoreline. strive for a safe and secure future for all those who The governments’ housing policy is in accordance are affected by the tsunami in some way or the other. with the coastal regulation zone (CRZ) notification, Santhanam stressed that the Tamil Nadu and gives the option to the fishers to relocate beyond government’s response to the tsunami disaster has been 200 m from the high tide line (HTL) if they so wish, characterized by a willingness to provide adequate reiterated the Commissioner. There is no compulsory space for civil society organizations (CSOs), to remove relocation. Those who are willing to relocate have been bottlenecks for their functioning, and be accessible assured of a house worth Rs150,000 (US$3,388), and receptive to feedback and act upon them promptly. along with land. Those not willing to relocate would The State Relief Commissioner then proceeded to be allowed to repair, without government’s assistance, flag three main issues that are the main areas of if the structures are authorized and were in their concern: current plots prior to 1991. The Commissioner said that the government’s (i) Proliferation of boats after the tsunami policy is driven purely by safety considerations. There In the post-tsunami period, the Coromandel coast is a misconception among some people that the space saw the presence of a large number of NGOs and vacated by fishermen who chose to relocate would their desire to do something quick and visible in the be given to some other industries, which would totally tsunami-affected areas. This resulted in a large number destroy the fishers’ livelihood. The Chief Minister had of people who previously had no boats now getting already assured the State Legislative Assembly that the boats. This is likely to result in a chain of other events vacated land would be entered in the Prohibitory such as shortage of people working as crew; increased Order Book (POB) and would be maintained for dropouts from schools due to fishers taking their public purposes, which include the occupational use children to sea; competition by more boats from the of beach by the fishing community. The community same village for finite fishery resources in the same would be allowed to keep their boats, nets, etc. in this fishing area, causing tensions both at sea and on shore; area. Since new houses are to be built as per the and finally, an aggravation of tensions resulting from technical specification of the government for safety the changed social structure of workers-turned-owners. and durability, it is in the interest of the community to Santhanam also pointed out that beneficiaries who look at the relocation issue in the right perspective, he have received boats have expressed concerns over the stressed. quality of boats built in a hurry and supplied by the (iii) Alternative livelihoods NGOs. This, in turn, raises safety concerns. The other Santhanam said that the issue of alternative livelihoods issues include a surplus of boats, alongside a shortage was important in the current situation where the tsunami of nets and other equipment required for fishing; the has brought to the fore the risks involved in coastal high cost of maintenance; the unsuitability of boats lives. The limited nature of the aquatic resources has to local conditions or requirements; and variations added another dimension. The government has from the preferred design and make of engine. These addressed these needs in right earnest, and a dedicated are very serious issues that have to be dealt with and programme of alternative livelihoods is being for which solutions have to be found, said the formulated in consultation with the affected Commissioner. communities. Recognizing the advantages of group-

4 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Proceedings based activities, special attention is being paid to ensure for comparison due to the vast diversity of the affected that these opportunities are delivered through self- areas/countries. Areas and countries seen as distinct help groups. Initiatives such as seaweed farming, crab geopolitical entities, which previously had rarely come and lobster fattening, etc. are being looked at as together to think of common approaches and options. Generally, all these have got very good export programmes, were united by the indiscriminating markets, and can make a lot of difference to the fishers. tsunami. This has also given an excellent opportunity The State Relief Commissioner emphasized the to look at fisheries issues with a common perspective. importance of establishing forward linkages if such Vivekanandan pointed out that Southeast Asia, activities are to be done in a sustainable manner. for example, is way ahead of south Asia in terms of He said that the coastal economy supply chain community-based coastal resource management could be substantially altered through the identification (CBCRM). It is with this kind of a regional perspective and implementation of alternative livelihood that ICS decided to take stock of the situation one opportunities. These will not only supplement the year after the tsunami by launching country-level income gained but also provide for substantive risk studies in India, Indonesia, Thailand and Sri Lanka. It diversification for the fishing communities. There is a was decided to present these studies and organize a provision of nearly US$50 mn for livelihood discussion and debate around them. The isheries promotion in the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Department of the Maldives had also expressed its Tsunami Emergency Assistance Project, which is now interest in the workshop even though ICS itself has being implemented in Tamil Nadu. Similarly, the post- not been able to commission a study in the Maldives. tsunami sustainable livelihood programme funded by The workshop thus offers the opportunity to discuss the International und for Agricultural Development the post-tsunami situation in five tsunami-affected (IAD) focuses mainly on community resources countries in Asia. management, community institutions, micro- and rural Vivekanandan then proceeded to give the financial institutions and micro-enterprise schedule of the workshop. He pointed out that this development. He hoped organizations working with was the time that multilateral agencies, with large funds fishing communities, such as those present at the at their disposal, were starting their longer-term workshop, would help in the identification and interventions. It is important to know their plans for implementation of projects, as that would go a long tsunami rehabilitation, with the aim of coming out way in the restoration of the community that was the with the best way to take the whole process of worst affected in the tsunami. rehabilitation forward. Therefore, following the presentations of country studies and inputs by Background to the Workshop: V. Vivekanandan, government officials present on the country situations, Chief Executive, multilateral agencies would present their plans for the South Indian ederation of coming period. And finally, the fishworker perspective ishermen Societies (SIS), would be presented in the form of a set of India recommendations that had been drafted during the Vivekanandan provided the background to the NGO meeting prior to the workshop. The workshop. He said that one year on, it was a good recommendations, he said, were based on issues that time to take stock and reflect on post-tsunami relief emerged during country-level processes and and rehabilitation processes. ICS had been, from the consultations with affected communities. very beginning, monitoring and trying to follow up Inaugural Address: A. Vaidyanathan, ormer Director, on the tsunami relief and rehabilitation process. He Madras Institute of Development Studies pointed out that, even though coastal areas are (MIDS), India disaster-prone, many present at the workshop did not have much previous disaster experience. The Vaidyanathan started his address by complimenting experience that has been gained in the post-tsunami the authors of the studies that had been commissioned. period will help us to be better prepared for future He stressed that the reports had been written not just disasters. There have also been amazing opportunities to look at the success and failures of rehabilitation

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programmes and processes but also to raise concerns experts, should be documented, and efforts should and questions on longer-term issues. be made to increase their interaction with the He pointed to two underlying areas of concern. knowledge, technology, competence and expertise of The first was the fragmented response to an immediate the modern scientific community. problem that often lacked a co-ordinated or Vaidyanathan strongly urged the participants to comprehensive understanding of the nature of the look beyond the success and failures of rehabilitation, disaster. The second and more important issue related and develop a much richer understanding of the to what the disaster meant to the fishing community— interaction between the resource, technology and not only those directly dependent on fisheries but also institutions. Addressing problems in a fragmented those indirectly dependent on the resources for their manner may otherwise lead to outcomes very different livelihood. from those expected and might indeed turn out to be Vaidyanathan stressed the importance of disappointing. He, therefore, urged the participants understanding the many changes that have been taking to have a larger and longer-term perspective to place over a period of time in the fisheries sector as streamlining rehabilitation efforts. related to technology, the resource base and demography, as what we see today is the cumulative COUNTRY REPORTS effect of these changes. He delved briefly into the history of the development of the fisheries sector in INDONESIA India, and the impact of modern technology on the Author and presenter: Hilde Janssen, Independent artisanal sector and fisheries resources. He spoke of Journalist, Indonesia the growing concern, even consensus, among experts Chairperson: Y. S. Yadava, Director, Bay of that the rate of exploitation of fishery resources has Bengal Programme Inter- exceeded sustainable limits. This, together with Governmental Organization (BOBP- ecological damages in the estuarine areas and the IGO), India coastal ecosystems, compounded in some areas by the advent of unregulated aquaculture, has aggravated Hilde Janssen presented the study on Indonesia. She the resource situation. said that the study was based on field surveys He pointed to some key issues facing the sector conducted in Aceh and Nias, the most severely today, particularly the differential access to resources affected provinces in Indonesia. Briefing participants that has led to conflicts between the traditional sector on the pre-tsunami situation vis-à-vis small-scale and the modernized sector in inshore waters. fisheries and fishing communities in Aceh and Nias, Traditional fishermen often end up being marginalized Hilde elaborated on the role of various peoples and become sources of cheap labour. organizations in the pre-tsunami context such as the Vaidyanathan stressed that interventions should toukay, the merchant-trader, also the main informal be undertaken taking into consideration all such money-lending institution; the panglima laot, a traditional complex processes in the sector. There is, at the same institution in fishing communities responsible for time, need for good research on the potential of the dispute settlement and checking illegal fishing; and the available resources, which is still a grey area, where Gerakan Aceh Merdeka (GAM), or the ree Aceh there are many opinions but no hard, well- Movement. documented answers. Much more information is After providing a detailed overview of the needed to convert facts into actual knowledge. He damages in the fisheries sector, Janssen said that in the reiterated that even the issue of diversification could rehabilitation phase the efforts or interventions vis-à- be dealt with only after knowing and understanding vis livelihoods in the fisheries sector could be classified the larger context of constraints and opportunities. into: interventions in the harvesting sector; He emphasized the need to understand and interventions in infrastructure; and interventions in the document local knowledge, both in the collective post-harvest sector. A major issue identified in almost memory and the experiences of the fisherfolk. Their all phases of rehabilitation was the non-inclusion of ideas and interpretations, different from that of the women in the process of relief and rehabilitation.

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Janssen said that that there was no particular target Hutagalung then proceeded to inform the quota for women, as fisheries was considered to be participants about the priorities of the Indonesian the domain of men. government in the rehabilitation phase. Housing tops In the context of land and shelter, relocation is a the list of priorities as seen by the Government of major issue. There are debates still going on in Indonesia and the effort is to complete housing by communities on whether to return to their original the end of 2007. In the second phase, infrastructure settlements or to relocate. There are also concerns on development would be the top priority and this focus whether minimum standards, as on safety, are being would continue till mid-2008. The year 2008-2009 followed in housing and reconstruction, given the wide would see institutional, social and human resource variety in type, quality, size and package of development leading the list of activities. Cutting interventions by different players in the field. through all these phases will be the effort to ensure Janssen presented what she saw as cross-cutting issues economic activities to supplement the income of the in rehabilitation: tsunami-affected. • The quality of aid and difficulty in ensuring Hutagalung further listed the following good aid rehabilitation priorities identified by the Government • The quantity of aid, and problems arising while of Indonesia: dealing with the issue of oversupply and • Promoting effective co-ordination mechanisms depletion of resources between the provincial government Badan • Co-ordination Rehabilitasi dan Rekonstruksi (BRR), the district • Identification of beneficiaries in the government, donors and NGOs rehabilitation process • Promoting district-level teamwork among • The issue posed by problematic ideas, like players/stakeholders (and encouraging cutting out middlemen from the fisheries sector, community representatives/panglima laot to which could be viewed as either utopian or participate) feasible • Accelerating implementation of rehabilitation programmes In conclusion, Janssen stressed the following as • inalizing spatial/zoning plans for essential needs: infrastructure, aquaculture, housing, markets, • inding a fine balance between quick, good etc. and participatory solutions to meet the • Ensuring good quality of goods/services challenges of post-tsunami rehabilitation delivered to the communities • ormulating effective mechanisms for • Strengthening capacity of the provincial monitoring, co-ordination and control of relief government to implement and monitor and rehabilitation effort programmes • inding a way out of the mode of competition • Supporting the anti-corruption campaign, among different players in the rehabilitation which was launched by the Governor of Aceh processes on 12 January 2006 • inding solutions to genuine complaints of • Supporting interventions that go beyond just stakeholders replacement of losses/damages (in fisheries, for Comment: Saut P. Hutagalung, Director of example, aim not just to replace lost craft and Planning and International Co-operation gear but also to improve fisheries and resource Bureau, Ministry of Marine Affairs and management) isheries, Indonesia Discussion Saut Hutagalung commended the study for its In the discussion that followed, a question on the role informative and comprehensive coverage. He said that of traditional institutions like the panglima laot in the it was a useful input for the Indonesian government post-tsunami scenario was raised. Janssen said that as well as for all those who have committed to support post-tsunami, local leaders of fishing communities, the rehabilitation of Aceh and Nias. apart from playing their traditional role of dispute

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management and safeguarding traditions, were also government? Was it sustainable? In response, it was involved in managing the aid coming in from different said that Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia (LIPI), donors and in providing boats, gear and nets for the the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, had undertaken community. Traditionally, leaders of these institutions a survey on the impact of the tsunami on the coastal are respected for their knowledge and seniority. The region. It had collected data on stocks in the coastal influx of money post-tsunami has led to some distrust areas but the survey had not included offshore waters. of the leaders, as people suspect them of corruption The Government of Indonesia is also interested in with respect to the aid coming in. Janssen said that knowing the status of deep-sea fish stocks. Janssen even though traditional systems are the best vehicles said that some caution was needed before promoting to reach the community at large, involving them in such diversification. money transactions can erode the respect and the trust Saut Hutagalung said that the Indonesian that people have in them. She cautioned that while government has a policy designed to stop the donor agencies should work with the panglima laot for operations of foreign fleets in the Indonesian exclusive their knowledge and their strong networking, there is economic zone (EEZ) under licensing arrangements, need to be careful in not putting in too much money unless it is through joint arrangements. In such a into the system. Rather, there should be involvement situation, he stressed, there is an opportunity for the with the larger community, with clear controls and national fleet to develop gradually. There was also an transparency in the use of money. opportunity for Aceh fishermen to develop themselves A discussion followed on the changed situation in such a context. At present, there are only five boats in Banda Aceh and the peace process underway in the in the area, a very small number. By developing the post-tsunami period, with the civil unrest waning and deep-sea fishery, the pressure on coastal waters and talks being held between the Indonesian government their resources can be reduced considerably, at least and the Aceh separatist movement. It was pointed along the east coast of Aceh. He said that the views out that all signs on the peace settlements were positive. of local communities are being taken into account People are, however, watching the developments while formulating these policies. He further clarified carefully as there was a similar peace settlement in 2002 that the government was not referring to deep-sea with the separatists, which failed after a few months. vessels in the range of 100 gross tonnes (GT), but The difference now is that the tsunami has made was planning for vessels not exceeding 10 GT in the people aware that there is a lot at stake as they have initial trial phase. lost much, and people are keen to move forward. There was also interest among the participants to There is also a lot of political support and will from know the stand of the Government of Indonesia the government, particularly after it became clear that towards the offer by the European Union (EU) on the internal conflict was actually hindering the aid decommissioned vessels. Hutagalung said that to date process. The tsunami has brought peace to this earlier the government has not actually accepted the offer. conflict-ridden area, even though there are some However, the government is now starting discussion stumbling blocks to be crossed, such as the new with EU on the offer. Any decision taken will be based legislation required. Reports from the ground are also on a complete stock assessment, and discussions with positive, indicating that former GAM fighters are the local government and the panglima laot on how the returning to their villages. It was pointed out that the EU boats can be put to use and on how to develop positive processes in Indonesia were in contrast to the local capacity to utilize them. the situation in Sri Lanka where the peace process has been under stress post-tsunami, with consequent THAILAND severe impacts on the livelihoods of fishing Author and presenter: Duangkamol Sirisook, communities, especially in the conflict-ridden north Sustainable Development oundation and northeast of the country. (SD), Thailand Another question was on the efforts in Aceh to move fishers towards deep-sea fisheries. Was this an Chairperson: Muhammad Adli, Panglima initiative coming from the people or from the Laot, Indonesia

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The presentation started with a slideshow of • Inadequate/inappropriate fishing gear: photographs showing the damages and losses Thailand Several organizations that had little experience suffered due to the tsunami. After a brief description of working with fishing communities, either and statistics on the damages and losses, in general, supplied only the boats with no gear, or supplied and in the fisheries sector, in particular, Sirisook gear that was inappropriate, and even proceeded to enlist the relief measures given in the destructive. fishery sector. These mainly comprised compensation • Compensation for damaged boats: The for damage and loss of assets; aid for occupational compensation amount announced by the development; assistance for housing and settlement; government for damaged vessels differed for and relief measures for women and children. registered and unregistered boats. or a The Thai team identified the following key issues in registered boat, the compensation amount was the relief and rehabilitation process: THB50,000 (US$1,289), while for an unregistered boat, it was THB30,000 (US$771). • Lack of clear and accurate data: This This amount was, in any case, inadequate for problem was common to all countries, and had even registered fishers to purchase new boats. also resulted in widespread duplication of SAN argued that relief should be on a work. rom the data available from the humanitarian basis and not on the basis of Department of Disaster Mitigation, for whether you are inside or outside the system. example, a total of 4,807 small vessels had been damaged in the tsunami. According to the data • Damage assessment: The principles and from the Department of isheries, however, guidelines for assessing the scale of damage 6,000 boats have already been replaced. Can it were problematic. The guidelines required that be concluded that there is an obvious a committee be appointed to assess the damage. oversupply of boats, or was there However, there were no common standards misinformation on the number of boats to assess damages. urther, only committee damaged in the first place? In the initial period members knew the methodology for after the tsunami, people were working with assessment—those who were actually affected varying information, and lack of co-ordination. were not consulted or informed. Many community persons were, therefore, dissatisfied Hence a lot of the relief and support that was with the assessment and compensation, and the given did not go to meet actual losses. lack of transparency in the functioning of the • Lack of co-ordination: Relief and committee. rehabilitation have been marked by poor co- • Lack of compensation for workers: No ordination and lack of local mechanisms to compensation was provided to those working manage relief operations. Additionally, diverse on fishing vessels and as workers on shore. Each approaches and strategies have been used to boat lost affected those who worked as crew disburse aid, depending on the underlying and on shore in post-harvest operations. philosophies of organizations. or example, the However, compensation was given only to Save Andaman Network (SAN) worked with owners of fishing boats. the philosophy that communities should pay back what they had received, towards a • Migrant workers and ethnic minorities: common fund that could be used to further Ethnic groups, such as the sea gypsies, did not develop and strengthen the community and its receive adequate compensation, even though organizations. SAN was wary of the problems, they had lost their boats and houses, and were conflicts and the dependency that could be economically marginalized, in the first place. The created by giving aid for free. Other sea gypsies are also faced with the issue of organizations, however, believed in giving insecure title rights to their land, and claims by “free” aid. private landowners, even though the sea gypsies

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have occupied much of the land for 60 years. The Thai presenters concluded their presentation Migrant workers, mainly from Myanmar, also by sharing with the workshop participants some of faced the same problem. Estimates suggest that the best practices in the rehabilitation process. These there are about 120,000 migrant workers, both included case studies of rebuilding houses with legal and “illegal”, constituting the largest community participation, setting up of a community- workforce in the commercial fishing sector. run and managed boatyard, and the formation of Even though the Ministry of Labour did women’s occupational groups. provide an opportunity to these workers to Comment: Waraporn Prompoj, Chief, International register, many of them went into hiding for Co-operation Group, isheries oreign Affairs fear of arrest, especially those who had lost Division, Department of isheries, Thailand their identification documents in the tsunami. Little information about their numbers or Waraporn Prompoj said that damage assessment whereabouts is available even today. According centres were set up in every affected province in to the government, nine migrant workers died Thailand to assess the damages and losses, particularly in six provinces. However, studies by the NGO with reference to the fisheries sector. Compensation network indicate that at least 270 migrant was provided for loss of boats and gear, and for workers have died in one village alone. losses in aquaculture. The government continues to • Land conflict: In the post-tsunami period, ensure coverage of those who received inadequate many simmering land conflicts have come to or no relief. There have been some problems with the fore. There are about 81 tsunami-affected respect to the damage assessment guidelines, but villages where there are conflicts over land, both lessons were also learnt. Prompoj stressed that the with private landowners, and with the difference between the numbers of boats damaged government (in cases where communities are and those replaced pointed out in the presentation on “public land”). earlier, needed clarification. The figure referred to the On the matter of long-term rehabilitation, the number of people who received compensation and following were identified as the major programmes: not the number of boats replaced. • Seafood Bank project: As part of this Prompoj also outlined other initiatives that had programme, the government plans to give been taken by the department. Traditionally, boats used entitlements to coastal waters to promote in Thailand have been made of wood. However, aquaculture. It is being seen as a long-term timber has been a constraint and the use of RP boats rehabilitation measure in the post-tsunami is being considered. Assistance for this has been period, and will be backed by various types of requested from international and other technical support, such as training and credit. isherfolk organizations, including the AO. organizations, however, are very concerned Prompoj also provided information about the about the project, as it is feared that, among assistance received from the Thailand King’s other things, it will privatise what is a common- organization, USAID and the Norwegian government. pool natural resource. Initiatives are underway for mapping of fisheries • Special economic zones (SEZs): The resources to improve fisheries resource management. government is moving to set up SEZs to revive Sea farming using cage culture is being considered, the economy of the Andaman coast. Various including a pilot project for sea farming in deeper incentives are being offered to those who invest waters. in this region, including relaxation of tax laws, The government has been sensitive to the issue and laws to facilitate acquisition. This of oversupply of boats, and after consultation with development is linked to the larger process of the NGO network, has discouraged supply of boats stimulating free trade as part of the by other organizations/governments. or instance, the globalization process. The impact on local rench government was requested to provide, instead people, particularly in terms of displacement, of boats, gear, post-harvest technologies and facilities and on natural resources is likely to be high. at the fish-landing sites. The government is also

10 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Proceedings exploring models for sustainable aquaculture, and is locations. However, if families do not wish to take working with farmers to provide training and support this house, the government will pay them an amount for market linkages. of THB 30,000 (US$771). Prompoj said that the poor quality of data was a Questions were also raised about the role being problem. There were attempts to arrive at a reliable played by NGOs in a context where the government set of data, by combining all available information, was already providing compensation, for example, but this had not worked out. However, the effort is for lost boats. In response, it was said that in many to work towards good baseline data for future work. cases the assistance provided by the government was On the issue of co-ordination, she said that a co- not sufficient. NGOs have taken on the role of topping ordination forum that acts as a clearing house for post- up this support, to enable, for example, a family to tsunami rehabilitation was set up in ebruary 2005, replace its boat and buy gear. This has been the together with the NGOs. A post-tsunami rehabilitation approach adopted by SAN, and duplication has been co-ordination unit has also been set up by the AO to avoided. However, many other NGOs have provided co-ordinate information and the parties involved. RP boats independently to communities irrespective There are also plans for further work on of loss or damage incurred. livelihood rehabilitation and management of coastal Another question was on the issue of migrant and fisheries resources. Studies to assess fishing capacity workers. Which are the areas in Thai fisheries where have been planned, and based on them, the migrant workers are employed, and is such recruitment government will propose improved fisheries resources legal or illegal? What are the mechanisms in place for management and aquaculture for sustainable providing identification papers to workers who have development. It is planned to support culture activities lost their papers? In response, it was informed that in terms of markets, post-harvest technology, credit, most migrant workers seek employment mainly in etc. The department will also be insisting on the commercial fisheries sector. There is a dynamic registration of boats, while a boat-marking system is and fluid movement of workers entering and leaving also being considered. There will be greater emphasis the Andaman coast. Some have identification papers, on safety of boats through reassessment of boat some do not. After the tsunami, the Ministry of safety and training programmes on safety at sea for Labour set up camps for migrant workers to register Thai fishermen. Another very important element is in cases where they had lost their cards. However, the early warning system for fishing communities—a many workers stayed away for various reasons, computerized early warning system that is very simple including fear of harassment, or because all the notices and can be used by fishermen. were in Thai. Rehabilitation and management of coastal and There was a doubt on the high number of villages fisheries resources is a major focus area. Areas of (81) reported as facing land conflicts. It was clarified intervention will include capacity building, as one way that most of these were conflicts that existed pre- to protect resources is to train people—government, tsunami. Post-tsunami, an additional four or five scientists, NGOs, village heads—about them. villages reported conflicts. Conflicts are mainly On the Seafood Bank programme, Prompoj said between communities and government, and between that the intention is to provide alternative means of communities and private landowners. The government livelihood to fisherfolk, particularly those engaged in has set up a committee to look into these disputes. aquaculture. The programme would be undertaken To a question on the Seafood Bank programme, only after taking various issues into consideration. Sirisook explained that the programme aimed at producing more seafood, as the Thai marine resources Discussion were considered overfished. The plan is to give A question was raised seeking clarification on the shelter individuals entitlement to sea areas, similar to land and relocation policy of the Thai government. It was entitlements. Those in the poverty register of the clarified that the government has undertaken to build government can apply to farm species such as shellfish houses for affected families/communities in various and cockles, mainly for the export market, after

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receiving training in food safety. However, fisherfolk until the redistribution is carried out as described have objected to the programme. The sea is a shared above. common resource, and the programme will disrupt • Community organizations should be consulted or restrict access to fishing grounds and thus contradict on the distribution of fishing equipment. the way of life of their communities, they argued. • Issue of multi-day boats should be done only There is also little understanding about the potential after the compulsory signing of a work contract environmental and other impacts of the activity. between the owners and the crewmembers that Prompoj said that the objective of the programme include satisfactory employment conditions, was to improve alternatives for those in aquaculture. including those relating to insurance and safety There was a need to balance fisheries and aquaculture, issues. she stressed. On the overexploitation of coastal resources: • Laws on fishing gear must be enforced. SRI LANKA • isher People’s Councils must be established, Author and presenter: Oscar Amarasinghe, Senior and powers delegated to community-based Lecturer, University of Ruhuna, organizations (CBOs) to ensure the enforcement Sri Lanka of State laws on fisheries management. Chairperson: Harekrishna Debnath, On the set-back areas (buffer zones): Chairperson, National • Permission must be granted to beach-seine ishworkers’ orum (N), India fishers to settle close to their respective seine- Oscar Amarasinghe started his presentation on the Sri laying areas. • ishers must be allowed to settle along the Lanka country study by giving a brief description of coastal belt if they so wish. the pre- and post-tsunami situation in the fisheries • Reconstruction of houses in coastal areas must sector. He classified the issues relating to the be allowed only after taking into consideration distribution of craft and gear under three main heads: the elevation of the area or the possibility of oversupply (in some areas), undersupply (mainly in constructing houses on stilts. the north and the north east) and “malsupply”. Malsupply occurred mainly because of the low quality On sustainable livelihoods: of craft and gear supplied. • Assistance must be given to families to sustain There are other issues pertaining to the distribution their livelihoods. of craft and gear, including their provision to “non- • Training for skill development must be genuine” fishers; supply of more than one craft per imparted. person; corruption; the absence of a package approach • The capacity of CBOs must be strengthened. to rehabilitation, which resulted in fragmented relief • The important role played by women in fisheries and rehabilitation; and a bias towards replacing RP should be recognized and women should be boats rather than traditional craft. given opportunities to engage in income- generating activities. The following recommendations were made: • Alternative sources of livelihoods must be On the malsupply of fishing equipment: explored. • The Ministry of isheries and Aquatic On rehabilitation in the north and northeast of the country: Resources (MAR) should prescribe standards • The Government of Sri Lanka should provide for the fishing craft and gear to be distributed. necessary facilities and assistance to NGOs who • ishing equipment issued to “non-genuine” are interested in providing assistance in the north fishers should be bought back and redistributed and the northeast region. among “genuine” fishers. • Assistance given to the war-affected areas • There should be no further issue of fishing should be on a par with that given to other equipment to areas where malsupply is noticed areas.

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Additionally, it was recommended that the important since they account for half the national construction of permanent houses should take into fisheries production. If they are not supported, the consideration the regulations laid down by the Urban Additional Secretary said, Sri Lanka might end up Development Authority with respect to environmental importing fish products. considerations, designs, facilities, etc. Rainwater- About LKR6 mn (US$58,532) is the estimated harvesting tanks should be incorporated into house cost for the replacement and repair of one multi-day designs in water-deficient areas. boat. However, the government has set aside only Community participation was recommended in LKR2.5 mn. The Government of the Netherlands is decisionmaking on rebuilding the fisheries sector. supporting the project. The Additional Secretary added There should be better co-ordination between NGOs that the list of beneficiaries in the multi-day sector and State institutions, and alliances among NGOs was published in the newspapers in all three languages aiming for similar interventions. – Sinhala, Tamil and English. It was also clearly Amarasinghe reiterated the need for the State to mentioned in the newspaper notices that assistance accelerate the formulation of a long-term national would be withheld if the information given was found fisheries policy. He concluded by strongly emphasizing to be wrong. Efforts have been made to keep all the tsunami survivors’ rights to gender equality and a transactions transparent. The fishermen are allowed dignified livelihood, conditions that must guide all to inspect the construction of their boats. Government rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts. functionaries are also in place to check the quality of Comment: Ranepura Hewage Piyasena, the construction. Additional Secretary (Development), Ministry According to the Additional Secretary, the of isheries and Aquatic Resources (MAR), frequent changes in MAR — the current Minister is Sri Lanka the third in a row to be put in charge of tsunami rehabilitation – have also affected the rehabilitation Ranepura Hewage Piyasena commented on the efforts. Piyasena agreed that much more could have situation in the strife-ridden north and northeast of been done with better co-ordination and co-operation. the country, saying that the restoration of peace could Efforts for better co-ordination with NGOs are now be achieved only with the support of the community. in the pipeline, with AO collaboration. He added that, compared to many other countries, Piyasena added that until the tsunami, the fisheries Sri Lanka has very good rules and regulations for sector did not attract much attention. Only around a fisheries and their management, but the problem lay third of the craft had been registered. After the in enforcement. disaster, it was politically difficult to decide whether The main stumbling block in rehabilitation is the to give compensation only to those who had registered absence of authentic data. Data collection in the their boats. The preparation of the beneficiary list thus aftermath of such a massive disaster has proved to proved to be problematic, especially when there were be difficult. Most people, affected and unaffected, more beneficiary claimants than the number of expect the government to do something or the other fishermen. Though initially the government tried to for them. or a country like Sri Lanka, where a third work in a centralized manner, it later realized that the of the population lives below the poverty line, the bottom-up approach would be more effective. number of beneficiaries could be unmanageably high, making compensation very difficult. The Government Discussion of Sri Lanka is trying to rope in NGOs to come up The AO representative, Derek Staples, made with reliable data. clarifications on the data provided by AO, the The government is also concentrating on reported unreliability of which kept recurring in assistance to multi-day boats, a sector neglected by Amarasinghe’s presentation. He said that information the NGOs, probably due to the fact that it involves collection and collation was one of the several projects the comparatively better-off fishermen. Even though funded by the UN. Later AO was asked to spearhead they constitute only 10 per cent of the fisher efforts for better co-ordination among the major population, the government considers this group as players in the rehabilitation process in Sri Lanka.

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Staples said that AO had attempted to identify • Provision for mechanized artisanal fishing and define “genuine” fishers. Information collection vessels involves several people and, consequently, large biases. • Repair and commissioning of damaged fishing The definition of “destroyed” and “damaged” boats vessels also changed dramatically as relief criteria changed. • Replacement of lost and damaged equipment Such a continuous change in the nature of the data and gear being collected called for a great deal of thinking and • Replacement of damaged facilities in the fishing reasoning, Staples added. industry “Genuine” fishers did not object to the • Micro-credit facility to support fish processors distribution of craft to non-fishers, even though their • Rehabilitation of damaged or destroyed very own livelihoods were threatened, because they boatsheds knew that these boats would not be finally utilized. • Repair of fish aggregating device centres The non-fishers took the boats in the hope of selling • Repair of mariculture stations them. But with oversupply, there are few buyers now. • Assessment and monitoring of the impact of Buyback schemes would solve many such problems, the tsunami on coral reefs and other marine it was pointed out. resources Sebastian Mathew suggested two kinds of • Infrastructure support buyback schemes: buyback for redistribution and • inancial support buyback for retirement. In the first instance, good- • Capacity building in fisheries quality boats can bought from fishermen who want The main issues pertaining to the rehabilitation process to retire, and the boats procured thus can be were: redistributed to those interested in continuing fishing. • Lack of co-ordination amongst donor agencies In the second instance, all poor-quality boats that • Delay in finalizing implementation arrangements compromise the safety of fishermen at sea can be • Delay in finalizing the list and category of bought back and permanently retired from the active beneficiaries fishing fleet. • aulty identification, resulting in inequality in the More institutional support should be requested community for such programmes from multilateral agencies to evolve a well-thought strategy to deal with Discussion redistribution and thus oversupply. A rational To queries on contaminated drinking water supplies, programme on the quality of the craft and their it was pointed out that with aid from the International distribution could be tied up with the idea of a fishing ederation for Red Cross and Red Crescent (IRC), unit that combines good engines with appropriate or 2,500-litre rainwater collection tanks were provided sustainable fishing gear. Such programmes could be to each house in the islands. With good rains reported supported with better resource surveys as well. in 2005, people are able to meet their water demand with the help of these tanks. To a query on the absence of NGOs in Maldives, MALDIVES it was said that even though some NGOs are present, Presenter: athmath Shafeega, Assistant Director none was working exclusively in the fisheries sector. Ministry of isheries, Agriculture and Marine In the case of existing NGOs, there have been no Resources, Maldives consultations with the government, leading to Chairperson: Herman Kumara, Convenor, National overlapping of assistance. isheries Solidarity (NASO), Sri Lanka On the issue of co-ordination, the government representative clarified that even though there was no athmath Shafeega classified the tsunami assistance overall mechanism to co-ordinate the assistance given programmes of the Government of Maldives under by the donors, different departments were making the following heads: their own efforts. Efforts by the World Bank and AO • Provision for new long-range fishing vessels to co-ordinate the supply of equipment proved to (inclusive of engine, equipment and gear) be quite meaningful.

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While other tsunami-hit Asian countries were able include an increased preference for RP kattamarams to raise more than enough money for rehabilitation, (catamarans) to wooden ones, and disinterest among the Maldives, though severely affected, had to struggle NGOs to supply or reinstate the mechanized sector, for lack of funds, and only half the requirements could thus leaving the government as the only player in be raised. Most of the funds — grants or loans – rehabilitating the sector. came with conditions, sometimes acceptable and The major issues identified in the rehabilitation sometimes not, the Assistant Director pointed out. of the fisheries sector are: The Maldives government looks through each project • pitiable quality of the boats supplied, and takes two to three months to negotiate and come characterized by the author as “use-and-throw up with terms and conditions acceptable to all. Grants boats”, which causes concerns about safety at are accepted without any hesitation, while loans involve sea some processing time. Assistance in kind has to be • low degree of community participation in discussed and co-ordinated with other agencies, to the replacement of boats avoid duplication. One participant pointed out that in • sporadic and patchy nature of the most other countries, the funds came in through the assistance provided to the post-harvest and NGOs, and Maldives’ lack of NGOs meant a lack ancillary workers, mainly women. This may of funds as well. It was clarified that the European be due to the lack of understanding about their Union (EU) had not extended any assistance for the roles in production and trade, as well as a lack fisheries sector, except to propose the handover of of interest in supporting the mechanized sector, decommissioned fishing vessels. which employs large numbers of dependent labourers. Women were better targeted only in INDIA areas where NGOs have a history of working There were two presentations in the session on India. with them. Non-membership in the panchayats The first was a country study that examined the tsunami played a part in restricting their access to support. rehabilitation efforts in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and With interest waning to replace and rebuild Andhra Pradesh, the three States of India that were boats, interest is waxing on women and other affected by the tsunami. The second presentation dealt marginalized groups. Salagrama pointed to the with the role of fishermen’s panchayats (village councils) increased possibility for the entry of widows in the distribution of relief and rehabilitation post- or dependents of dead fishers into fish trade tsunami. and processing. • poor distribution of credit, which was also Author and presenter: Venkatesh Salagrama, done in an inequitable fashion across Director, Integrated Coastal communities and work categories Management (ICM), India • non-registration of new boats, which raises Chairperson: Pisit Charnsnoh, Yadfon major concerns about fisheries management. Association, Thailand Trends like replacing wooden kattamarams with Venkatesh Salagrama outlined the principal objective RP kattamarams add to the problem of of the study as attempting a snapshot of the State- overcapacity. wise and sector-wise damages and losses inflicted by Salagrama said it was unlikely that all new boats had the tsunami in India (excluding Andaman and Nicobar entered fishing. There were enough deterrents in this Islands), and the rehabilitation packages given for regard, namely, the high cost of operation, the absence fisheries-based livelihoods and shelter. of adequate crew, and the poor quality and Salagrama highlighted some new post-tsunami inappropriate design of boats, all of which might arrangements, like the group ownership of boats, actually reduce the threat of overcapacity. The double supply of boats through women’s self-help groups entry of the same boat in official records might also (SHGs), and the granting of asset ownership to have caused the inflation of the number of boats women’s groups, which would then rent out the craft replaced. Salagrama did not expect all the promised and gear to the men for fishing. Other emerging trends boats to be delivered.

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Two other long-term issues were identified, was specifically designed to determine the changed namely, the need for disaster preparedness and safety role of the traditional institution for conflict resolution at sea, and livelihood diversification and migration. – the fishermen’s panchayat. It was seen that with the According to Salagrama, the response of the flow of aid, the villagers depended on the panchayat Tamil Nadu government to the tsunami was the most system for equitable distribution. The panchayat commendable. He also highlighted the near-complete institution thus helped prevent conflicts that would absence of the political class in the rehabilitation efforts have arisen from the large amounts of aid entering in the State. Expressing concern over the government’s the area in the form of relief. Where a traditional compulsion of non-interference with rehabilitation panchayat existed, most of the aid that came into the efforts, Salagrama said that could have contributed village was distributed through it. to the failure to curtail the overenthusiasm of some The traditional panchayats also dealt with of the civil society organizations. enumeration of aid beneficiaries; distribution of Venkatesh Salagrama expressed concern about compensation; and redistribution for goals of equity. the “show quick results” attitude of the new NGOs, Most of the panchayats displayed high levels of who completely lacked understanding of the ground accountability and transparency in the distribution of reality. This mentality also threatened the existence of relief. local NGOs that had been working in the area for a Community trust, however, could be an issue. long time and forced them to make compromises. When large amounts of money are floating around, The author pointed out that the formation of there are chances for corruption and the loss of trust, co-ordination bodies like the Tamil Nadu Tsunami and consequently, credibility, among the villagers. A Resource Centre (TNTRC), the NGO Co-ordination great deal of sensitivity and effort must precede the and Resource Centre (NCRC), and the Kanyakumari involvement of such institutions in fundamentally new Rehabilitation Resource Centre (KRRC) had some areas. positive impacts on rehabilitation efforts. All of them Comment: P. Sundara Kumar, Commissioner of were good examples of government-NGO isheries, Government of Andhra Pradesh, partnerships. Salagrama called for steps to legitimize India and institutionalize such links on a firmer footing. Such Agreeing with the findings of the India country study, partnerships could play a co-ordinating role in future Sundara Kumar stressed the following aspects of the development and rehabilitation activities, as well as a post-tsunami rehabilitation in Andhra Pradesh: self-regulating role in curtailing the overenthusiasm of • supply of quick relief to the affected people fly-by-night NGOs. He suggested that efforts be for two to three months made to make these bodies viable and independent • entrusting of relief distribution to village in the long run. communities. This is particularly worth noting Salagrama concluded by saying that one year after in the face of such a big disaster, where the tsunami, much remains to be done — and equally everyone clamours for benefits. importantly, undone. • an overemphasis on repair of boats, rather than replacement INDIA SPECIAL STUDY • problems in replacements, due to the paucity The role of traditional Panchayats in coastal fishing communities of wood to build boats in Tamil Nadu, with special reference to their role in mediating • evolution of a new system of group ownership tsunami relief and rehabilitation Discussion Author and presenter: N. B. Gomathy, reelance V. Sampath, Senior National Consultant, isheries Documentalist, Mumbai, India Project, UNDP, said that the India country report was Chairperson: Pisit Charnsnoh, Yadfon incomplete without the inclusion of Andaman and Association, Thailand Nicobar Islands, as the Union Territory was very near The study was conducted along the Coromandel coast to the epicentre of the earthquake and had suffered of Tamil Nadu, from Nagapattinam to Chennai. It huge damages and losses. Sampath said a study

16 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Proceedings conducted by the Department of Ocean reference to the sustainability of the resource base. Development (DOD) found that land subsidence to The relief and rehabilitation agencies did not seem to the scale of 0.9 m has taken place in Andaman and be necessarily bothered with these concerns. They were Nicobar group of islands and would impact the all aiming to replace or reinstate the status quo. coastal lands in an unprecedented manner. It was also It is also unfortunate, it was said, that the suggested that the author of the India study refer to communities heavily dependent on fish resources are the documents brought out by DOD, particularly those not bothered about the impact on resources of the related to coastal demarcation and vulnerability distribution of fishing assets. In the context of mapping. oversupply and overcapacity, there should be the Several participants were curious to know if there possibility of looking at distributing equitably the were co-ordination problems in the tsunami opportunities, keeping in mind the sustainability of rehabilitation efforts in India, as they did not figure in resources. Concepts like rotational access to the sea the country study, while all other studies referred to could be worth exploring. rom the accounts of co-ordination as an area of grave concern. How did traditional knowledge and practices, it is apparent that India manage to do better in the post-tsunami such concepts were prevalent in earlier times. In rehabilitation phase? planning rehabilitation exercises, there should be efforts It was answered that co-ordination was indeed a to make such connections, it was stressed. problem in India as well, and there were gaps as well It was pointed out rotational access practices have as duplication of effort. However, from the very been documented in one of the villages in beginning, there was also awareness about the lack of Nagapattinam, which saw the influx of a large number co-ordination. This led to the formation of co- of boats post-tsunami. It was clarified that this practice ordination units like TNTRC, NCRC and KRRC. might not have resulted from concern for resource These organizations played a very crucial role in the depletion, but rather from a lack of crew, as most of post-tsunami rehabilitation phase, and they could well crew members got boats and turned into owners after grow into much stronger and more meaningful the tsunami. organizations of co-ordination in the development sector at large, it was said. PRESENTATIONS BY AO, WORLD BANK Herman Kumara, Convenor of NASO, said AND ADB that in Sri Lanka, efforts are being made to buy back trawlers and replace them with appropriate Chairperson: C. V. Sankar , Officer on Special Duty-Relief technology, considering the rate of overexploitation and Rehabilitation, Government of Tamil of the fragile ecosystem of the Gulf of Mannar by Nadu, India bottom trawlers. It is unfortunate that such an C. V. Sankar initiated the session on presentations by opportunity is not being grabbed to retire such multilateral agencies. He said that the fishing trawlers. In the absence of a policy perspective, donors population of Tamil Nadu is only 1-1.5 per cent of and NGOs were looking at replacing rather than the State’s total population. Before the tsunami, the retiring the vessels. level of attention given to the sector was considerably Elmer errer of the CBCRM Resource Centre, less. The disaster focused all attention on the sector, Philippines said that the tsunami has linked south Asia as it was the most affected. The tsunami thus provided and southeast Asia and, for that matter, the whole an opportunity to look at the sector in a scientific and world. It was the first natural disaster in which funds standardized fashion. The disaster also made the were mobilized from all around the world. The outside world realize that there is much to be done in question of being able to generate the same amount the sector. This happened by bringing into focus the of generosity in future disasters also depends on how actual living conditions of the fisher people, the well the issues in this disaster are addressed, he added. technologies they use, the various subsectors in It was pointed out during the discussions that fisheries, and the risks fisherfolk face due to the nature both the Indian studies focus more on equitable of their livelihoods. Initially, the State government put distribution of relief and rehabilitation, with no in place a policy of replacing what is lost or damaged.

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That policy had its own strengths and drawbacks. While Staples gave brief reports on the AO activities there was no sense of injustice in merely replacing in the tsunami-affected countries of India, Indonesia, what was lost, the opportunity to rectify some of the Thailand, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Myanmar, in the ills in the sector was missed. Asian continent, and Seychelles, Yemen and Somalia, The type of replacement that happened was, by in the African continent. and large, productive. The fisherfolk, who were The future plans of AO to realize the aim of thoroughly shaken in the initial months after the “build back better” put forward by the UN Special tsunami, quickly got back to their vocation. It is not Envoy for Tsunami Recovery would be to: very clear whether all fisher people happily returned • target better, so as to involve all the categories to what they were doing earlier out of choice or due affected; to the compulsion for survival. Two challenges exist • improve fisheries infrastructure; at present: to evolve alternative livelihoods for people • address issues like oversupply of boats by who wish to do so; and make fisheries safer for fishers. evolving better systems of co-management; These are linked to other issues like housing and • encourage good aquaculture practices; education. Education is one aspect that the government • concentrate on issues of sea safety by coming would like to focus upon, said Sankar. A lot of effort up with standards for boats; in terms of psychosocial support was given through • work towards early warning systems and trained local people. Such efforts prove to be concentrate on communication at the village sustainable in the long term. The workshop level; and deliberations are very important, added Sankar, as the • work towards evolving more resilient State administration is in the process of putting communities by evolving risk reduction together policies for the tsunami-affected, in general, strategies and fishers, in particular. Presentation II: World Bank Priorities for Post-tsunami Presentation I: AO and the Tsunami Assistance to isheries Presenter: Derek Staples, Senior isheries Officer, Presenter: Grant Milne, Senior Natural Resources AO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Management Specialist, Agriculture and Bangkok, Thailand Rural Development, South Asia Region of Derek Staples started his presentation by describing the World Bank, Washington D.C., United the aim of the ood and Agriculture Organization of States of America the United Nations (AO) as alleviating poverty and Grant Milne listed the World Bank’s response to the reducing hunger in the world. This aim is achieved tsunami and the principles it followed, adding that through raising levels of nutrition and standards of the general support plan was drafted in five days’ time. living of people, improving efficiency of production The principles of support were: and distribution of all food and agricultural products, • Governments would lead and own the disaster emergency assistance, and reducing programmes. vulnerability to natural disasters. • Communities should identify their needs and Staples stressed that the key role played by AO responses. in the post-tsunami phase was to help rural • Aid should be equitably distributed. communities become self-reliant and more resilient. • Strategies should be linked to growth and The approach adopted by AO for this was to: poverty reduction. • extend support through the government; • Responses must be co-ordinated with other • give direct support to affected communities donors. (through UN and NGO partners and • There should be a transition from emergency governments); and to reconstruction. • support sector-wise co-ordination and planning Milne gave a brief report on the World Bank’s response at national, regional and international levels. and financial assistance to the tsunami-affected

18 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Proceedings countries of Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and • Livelihoods: restoration of income-generation Thailand. He summarized the presentation by giving activities and alternative livelihoods of affected three main areas of focus for the Bank’s future persons tsunami-related activities: housing, public infrastructure, • Transportation: building roads/bridges and and rural livelihoods. Direct support for fishers is ports/harbours relatively insignificant. The priorities arrived at by the • Water supply and sanitation and rural/municipal World Bank were an outcome of discussions between infrastructure: rehabilitation and upgrading of the governments and stakeholders. Milne said that there damaged water supply systems, village/ seems to be a growing interest in improving fisheries municipal roads, drainage and public building management in the tsunami-affected parts of the • Capacity building and implementation assistance: world. He added that the aim would be to evolve a providing support in assessment of damage, policy framework to achieve this and thereby improve preparation and prioritization of subprojects, the livelihoods of fishers and processors. supervision/monitoring of works, and Among the other steps envisioned by the World incremental administration Bank are scaling up inhouse fisheries expertise, and evolving a targeted sector work that underpins support Discussion for capacity building, legal and policy framework, Before opening the floor to discussions, C. V. Sankar improving marketing systems, and other institutional added some points to supplement the presentations made by the World Bank and ADB as well as a short reforms. Such sector work could guide longer-term description of the role of the United Nations sector lending, Milne added. Development Programme (UNDP) and the He concluded by remarking that such workshops International und for Agricultural Development are an important platform and a unique opportunity (IAD) in tsunami rehabilitation in India. for NGOs to give feedback on the World Bank’s The chair gave reasons why the World Bank’s programmes by identifying areas where it is doing response to the fisheries sector was not up to the same well, and other areas where there is scope for level as in other sectors. He said that after much improvement, especially in better targeting and discussion, the Government of India came up with a delivery. Such interactions and deliberations would also rehabilitation policy that emphasized replacing lost help the World Bank chalk out its long-term priorities, assets. or this, the government announced the Rajiv he said. Gandhi Rehabilitation Package, which was to be Presentation III: Asian Development Bank – India implemented with subsidies from both the Resident Mission: Tsunami Emergency Government of India as well as the State governments, Assistance (Sector) Project (TEAP) with substantial financial assistance from institutions like the World Bank and the ADB. Even though Presenter: S. V. Anil Das , Livelihood Specialist, money was needed for new fish-landing centres and Extended Mission in Chennai, Asian other similar facilities, the initial focus was on the Development Bank (ADB), India restoration of damaged and lost assets. S. V. Anil Das’ presentation focused on the ADB’s A grant fund available with the World Bank for programme for tsunami rehabilitation in India, the fisheries policy would take stock of what has taken Tsunami Emergency Assistance (Sector) Project place and what needs to be done before its (TEAP). It aims to restore the livelihoods and formulation. The Director of isheries would economic activities of the tsunami-affected implement this programme. A portion of the grant populations, to accelerate poverty alleviation in the fund would be allocated for studies on further tsunami-affected areas and rehabilitate and reconstruct livelihood options, pilot studies, and so on. Sankar public and community-based infrastructure that are said that such efforts are very important to take the vulnerable to natural disasters. “build back better” concept forward. Detailing the project cost and financing plan, Das Another important programme of the World went on to list the project components, namely: Bank is the cyclone-mitigation project, not only for

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 19 Proceedings

Tamil Nadu, but also for other coastal States. This main focus is to make the community better prepared project again is aimed at ensuring the safety of coastal to face disasters. One village in Cuddalore district, communities by building more evacuation shelters, where fisherfolk were given training on disaster training the people to manage them on a day-to-day preparedness before the tsunami, recorded the least basis, clubbing them with early warning centers, and number of deaths. The bottom line, Sankar said, is so on. This would prove extremely useful especially that communities need local solutions, and training in the Coromandel coast, which is often plagued by administering first aid, evacuation, and so on. cyclones and supercyclones. Sankar said that the cyclone The district of Nagapattinam has taken these shelters that were built after the disastrous cyclones efforts a step further by coming up with a task force of the 1970s with the funds from the EU, Red Cross plan, which gives detailed listings of the resources and other such organization have stood the test of available, like medical facilities, sturdy buildings, and time. These structures, built around 25-30 years ago, cyclone shelters and their distances from particular can handle large population, ranging to a thousand. locations in the village. Such plans need to be Yet another aspect of World Bank funding is propagated at the village level. There is also a need related to the environment. unds are available to put for continuous interactive sessions with the villagers, up bioshields in the form of shelterbelts and mangrove to make these plans living rather than exist as mere plantations, which have proved extremely useful in booklets. decreasing the effect of the tsunami in many areas. Answering a question on the impact of tsunami Sankar felt that the shelterbelts are helpful in creating on fish stocks, Derek Staples said that AO has indeed sand dunes and holding the soil, thereby protecting undertaken post-tsunami studies on the impact on fish the community. habitats like mangroves. Even though there is no The World Bank also funds the coastal zone evident change in the fish stock, the impact would management plan for the whole State. This involves really be visible only after a couple of years, he added. activities like the demarcation of the high-tide line B. Subramanian of SIS, reacting to the greater (HTL) so as to take note of the coastal zone regulation emphasis given for fisheries management by all the of the Government of India. More important is three multilateral organizations that made developing an integrated coastal zone management presentations, said that the problems of management (ICZM) plan. All the above would depend crucially could not be solved unless the burgeoning population on developing a legal framework. These programmes of fisherfolk was brought under control. should involve the community in a big way. The Reacting to the ADB plan for skill development, stakeholder consultation would be done by the State Subramanian said that fishermen do not want to be government’s Department of Environment. trained in activities like sewing. What they now need is Sankar said that ADB’s TEAP includes a huge good education. Most of them would opt for and flexible grant focused on livelihoods. IAD also education and better employment than opt for a boat, has a post-tsunami sustainable livelihoods programme. if given a choice. NGOs are forcing the community Sankar also commented on the study done by ICS to accept boats that are unable to give them a for IAD, which made a lot of perceptive comments profitable livelihood anymore. on the status of the fisheries sector and what needs to In response, Derek Staples of AO said that be done in terms of innovative activities. fisheries management is a process, not a recipe. The On UNDP, Sankar said that it is mandatory for process involves all the stakeholders, namely, the UNDP to assist the governments in terms of disaster government, the NGOs and the fishing communities. preparedness. An ongoing project funded by the He said that AO and similar organizations are striving UNDP is the disaster risk mitigation project already for a balance between social benefits and economic in operation in six districts of Tamil Nadu. The main benefits with minimum impact on the sustainablity focus of the programme is disaster preparedness for of resources. The question that needs to be answered earthquakes. After the tsunami, the Government of is “Where do we want ourselves to be?” The Tamil Nadu requested UNDP to extend the alternatives of better education, better employment, programme to all the coastal districts of the State. Its and better and more opportunities are what we should

20 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Proceedings be working for on a much more determinate basis, infrastructure, Sankar added that care has to be taken he said. The Joint UN-AO mission is marking a start to consult the communities on various issues like for some such processes. Many of those working in livelihoods and housing. The process is ongoing, and tsunami rehabilitation are looking for quick results, the communities’ perceptions are given due importance but it has to be understood that all these processes and seriousness. take time. The ADB representative, Das, said that initially, Responding to Subramanian’s demand for better during rapid assessment, involving the community in education, Sankar said that focus on education is quite every aspect of planning was difficult and impractical. high on the agenda of the government in tsunami Both the assessment and the choosing of the rehabilitation. NGOs working in tsunami rehabilitation community were at random. This resulted in the ADB were also interested in education. The physical and the World Bank allocating their budgets under infrastructure of schools, toilets and laboratories has broad heads, leaving the breakdown figures and been constructed by NGOs directly. Many NGOs programmes to be worked out after consultations have partnered with local parent-teacher associations with the community. for taking in additional teachers. Sankar welcomed It was also pointed out that there several the observation raised on the need to consider and compulsions and great pressure to get things done focus on the educational aspects when designing the quickly, unlike the other programmes funded by relief and rehabilitation packages with the support of multilateral agencies, where much time is spent to multilateral agencies. understand and study the situation before coming up S. V. Anil Das, the ADB representative, said that with a plan of work. skill upgradation is an overarching component, which On the importance due to the traditional mainly takes into account alternative employment. Das knowledge of fisher communities, it was said that said that there is a section of the community whose one key principle that the World Bank should children are educated and are probably interested in recognize is to build upon what already exists. The developing other skills, who could be considered for modern fisheries management techniques might not training. be acceptable to the community and, therefore, it On rebuilding the fisheries sector, some would be worthwhile to document the traditional participants felt that replacing lost assets could be management systems and the traditional knowledge taken up by NGOs and other donor agencies, while bases that exist in different communities in the Indian the multilateral agencies could better focus on Ocean region, and then come up with viable fisheries integrated coastal zone management. This is particularly management practices acceptable to the communities. important because there are areas where the effect of Milne added that the World Bank has projects the tsunami on nearby villages has been dramatically and funds to support the supply of sea-safety dissimilar. Rehabilitation of communities in such equipment and communication networks. Most of pockets might throw up more conflicts than solutions. the multilateral organizations like UNDP also have Therefore an ICZM plan should be formulated that funds for setting up early warning systems. would look at the coast in a holistic manner. On the question of sustaining fisheries, Derek Sankar pointed out that engineering solutions have Staples of AO said that a study conducted in not been totally shelved. In some areas like the low- Thailand sought to determine what incentives are lying, densely populated pockets of Kanyakumari required to reduce trawler efforts. It was found that district, the sea protection wall would be the only even with the fuel prices going up and thereby solution available due to non-availability of land for operational costs, the fishers would still not leave people to be relocated on the landward side. fishing because that is their way of life. This is not just Construction of such structures would be undertaken a phenomenon of developing countries but can be only after they are backed by technical studies that seen in all the countries where there is fishing. When confirm their worth as the only solution available. people are sentimentally attached to the profession, it Pointing out that it is easy to assess the overall is difficult to think of incentives to move them out needs of the community with respect to physical of fishing, unless they are quite innovative.

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 21 Proceedings

H. Mohamad Kasim, Principal Scientist, Central DISCUSSION ON WORKSHOP Marine isheries Research Institute (CMRI), India, RECOMMENDATIONS said that in the face of biological and economical (The recommendations, which are included after the India Special overfishing, there should be efforts to help fisher Study at the end of this document, are based on reports presented people earn better prices for their catch. Value addition and discussed at country meetings and at the Chennai workshop, is the area requiring major inputs and a great deal of as well as the deliberations at the NGO meeting on 17 January handholding, he added. 2006. They reflect the overarching concerns of the participants C. M. Muralidharan of Action for ood of the workshop.) Production (APRO), India pointed out that a Presenter: Annie George, CEO, NGO Co-ordination fisherman gets into fishing at the age of around 13 and Resource Centre (NCRC), Nagapattinam, and hence it is very difficult to alter his mindset. The Tamil Nadu, India youth have to be targeted for alternative livelihoods and a change of occupation. or this, they need Chairperson: Muhammad Imran Amin, Telapak, education and skills development. Therefore, such Indonesia initiatives should target not the existing skilled Some participants asked about the steps that ought to fishermen but the future generations and encourage follow from the finalization of the recommendations, them to come out of fishing. and how to ensure that they are well accepted and Muralidharan added that many NGOs, supported acted on. Chandrika Sharma, Executive Secretary, by donor agencies, will set up processing plants, cold ICS, described the evolution of the chains and fish-drying yards. But unless management recommendations. She said that the process involved systems are in place, these will prove unsustainable. A was elaborate, starting with the country studies that collaborative approach should be looked at where an were discussed and critically reviewed at country-level institution like the ADB would provide infrastructure meetings, and continuing at the NGO meeting on 17 at the most appropriate place based on community January 2006 before culminating at the regional opinion, and its management could be leased to private workshop in Chennai. The participatory process threw entrepreneurs and monitored by the people. up issues of common concern to all the participating Anil Das said that the ADB is very cautious in tsunami-affected countries as well as certain country- dealing with infrastructure development. A proper specific issues. The proceedings of the workshop implementation plan should be submitted along with would be widely distributed and publicized so that the cost estimates for the infrastructure and also details the recommendations reach governments, multilateral on who will manage the structure and how it will be agencies, NGOs and all those engaged in post-tsunami rehabilitation of fishing communities. It is hoped that managed. Both the government and the ADB are very they will help influence the course of rehabilitation in keen that the NGOs or the CBOs that are going to ways that benefit small-scale fishing communities and handhold them should plan, from the very first day, improve their livelihoods in the long term, Chandrika to hand over responsibility to the community. Sharma added. The session wound up with general requests to the organizations present to have more and more PANEL DISCUSSION consultations at the local level, particularly with (The presentation of the recommendations was followed by a communities. While the funding agencies and the panel discussion on key issues that emerged from the workshop. government will co-ordinate these processes, the The panelists were asked to identify the top priorities that ought government would also like the people to understand to lead the post-tsunami rehabilitation efforts in each country. what these schemes are about and what their These priorities are listed below countrywise.) implications are. Requests were made to the NGOs to come forward and suggest projects and studies Panelists: that they would like to provide to the communities 1. Waraporn Prompoj, Chief, International Co- for restoring livelihoods, building back better systems, operation Group, isheries oreign Affairs and so on. Division, Department of isheries, Thailand

22 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Proceedings

2. Saut P. Hutagalung, Director of Planning could lead to plans for fisheries restoration, co- and International Co-operation Bureau, Ministry management and coastal aquaculture, among of Marine Affairs and isheries, Indonesia other areas. 3. Ranepura Hewage Piyasena, Additional 3. Establish simple early warning systems in fishing Secretary (Development), Ministry of isheries communities to cope with future disasters. and Aquatic Resources, Sri Lanka INDIA 4. Amarjeet Banga, Director (E&y Co-ord), 1. ocus on a sustainable livelihoods programme. Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & isheries, Ministry of Agriculture, India 2. Strengthen developmental schemes specifically meant for fisheries. 5. Harekrishna Debnath, Chairperson, National (Harekrishna Debnath, Chairperson, National ishworkers’ ishworkers’ orum, India orum, India, added the following priorities:) 6. Gunnar Album, Independent Observer, 3. Help coastal communities become resilient to Norway future calamities through region-specific long- Chairperson: Derek Staples, Senior isheries Officer, term plans. AO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, 4. Involve the people in consultations on planning Bangkok, Thailand relief and rehabilitation measures, assessment INDONESIA of resources and requirements, and planning for sustainable fisheries management and coastal 1. Improve co-ordination for better planning and zone management. management, and involve community-level organizations, NGOs, governments and the 5. Recognize the role of women in fishing panglima laot. communities and put them at the centre of the decision-making stage. 2. Accelerate the pace of rehabilitation programmes to ensure timely and adequate (Gunnar Album, the Independent Observer from Norway, support. added the following priorities:) 3. Shape policies and long-term measures only 1. Document thoroughly the experiences of after consultations with various stakeholders. NGOs and make them available to governments in donor countries in an accessible SRI LANKA form. 1. Enhance co-ordination at the regional and 2. Help fishing communities improve their ability district levels, which would help the government to control inputs and outputs in their fisheries. to provide assistance to the really needy. 2. Target the complete fishing unit while Discussion undertaking rehabilitation. It was pointed out that after the tsunami, fisheries have come into focus in many countries, and a great amount 3. Aim to improve livelihoods in fishing of aid is being put to “build back better”. Only communities. through dialogue can there be a convergence of ideas THAILAND and priorities. Otherwise contradictions will abound like the attempts to develop alternative sources of 1. Ensure better co-ordination between the livelihoods even as there are calls to protect traditional government and NGOs, and among NGOs, livelihoods. for which a co-ordination unit would help. Summarizing the session, the Chairperson, Derek 2. Strive for sound resources as a basis for good Staples of AO, said the foremost priority was the fisheries. Improved resource management issue of sustainable livelihood, for which it is necessary would require detailed stock assessments that to have co-ordination of rehabilitation efforts among

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 23 Proceedings

the different stakeholders. Another priority is the need Vivekanandan added that there was a need for to understand the status of the resource base on which greater reflection on the meaning of community many livelihoods depend, for which participatory participation, and whether there should be an management, co-management and sustainable unquestioning acceptance of proposals put forth by aquaculture are options worth exploring. the community. Equally, there is a need to question the policies of donors, who remain largely CONCLUDING SESSION unaccountable to those on the ground, and who At the final session of the workshop, Sebastian prioritize interventions based on their own perceptions. Mathew, Programme Adviser, ICS, and On the issue of co-ordination, identified as a key V. Vivekanandan, Chief Executive, SIS, provided priority by all the government representatives in the some concluding comments. Mathew drew attention panel discussion, Vivekanandan pointed out that in to the fact that relief and rehabilitation work in the the wake of the tsunami disaster, various models of post-tsunami period had led much greater — and co-ordination have evolved. In India itself there perhaps unprecedented — interaction between fishing are three or four distinctly different models of communities and governments of countries in the co-ordination. The Thailand model, as exemplified Indian Ocean region. There was thus a very real by the Save Andaman Network, is also very potential for a common framework to emanate from interesting, and there are rich opportunities to learn such an encounter. There was also considerable scope from them. to draw from good legislation that exists in some On the issue of “building back better”, countries in the region. The recommendations for Vivekanandan said that he remained a sceptic. It longer-term rehabilitation, presented at this workshop, appears better to do less than more, because often it could also contribute to building an effective is in the name of doing something better that bigger framework that brings together the regions and problems are created. It is not easy, for example, to communities of south and southeast Asia. address problems such as bad governance, social Vivekanandan said that in the post-disaster exclusion, and gender inequality as part of short-term situation, there was clearly a willingness to collaborate interventions. and co-ordinate, cutting across the usual boundaries inally, Vivekanandan flagged a few issues that between the private and public sectors, and emerged from the discussions during the workshop. governments and NGOs, as was evident during this Rehabilitation issues were more or less similar across workshop. The problems at the end of the first year countries, even in Thailand, a country regarded as after the tsunami, however, remain much the same as economically better off. None of the countries had those that were highlighted in the immediate aftermath good baseline data about numbers of boats, of the tsunami, for example, in the NGO statement fishermen, and so on. This appears to be a problem to the 26th Session of the Committee on isheries inherent to small-scale fisheries, due to its informal (COI) of the AO on 8 March 2005. While there is nature and the presence of, by and large, agreement on what needs to be done, the problem sociopolitically marginal communities. With State laws lies mainly in the realm of implementing and differing from community “laws”, issues of legal operationalizing policies and principles. Proposing the pluralism arise as well. practical modalities of implementation is especially Another important issue was transborder fishing. challenging in view of the diversity in the institutional The post-tsunami context offers an opportunity to and legal framework of the tsunami-affected countries. look at this issue in greater depth. ishermen caught While there is enormous potential for sharing as poachers are often on small boats. National experiences on rehabilitation, for the sharing to become boundaries, while important, cannot be allowed to learning, we have to contextualize and abstract the ignore the lives and livelihoods of small-scale experiences. Often, it has proved difficult to reach fishermen. This is an opportune time for India, this level. Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Maldives to work out some

24 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Proceedings humane system to allow access to one another’s waters, aid. In the face of increasing demand and lack of based on certain conditions, rather than quality control, donors had nobody to guide them. treating fishing as a criminal activity, Vivekanandan This is where fisher organizations like SIS can make added. qualitative differences. Several comments were subsequently received It was pointed out that rehabilitation packages from the participants. There was a query on how should strive for an average threshold of programmes donors could be made accountable, an issue that that seek to improve the day-to-day lives of the remains a challenge, it was pointed out. One participant affected, and should not be designed to cope only responded that perhaps the best way to increase with unprecedented disasters. accountability was to produce our own knowledge, In closing the workshop, Chandrika Sharma, as that increases options and alternatives. At present, thanked all participants for contributing meaningfully the production of knowledge is monopolized by to the deliberations. The tsunami had brought together those who can pay. It is important that mechanisms people from different parts of the world, creating an for articulating, documenting and disseminating enabling environment for working together and peoples’ knowledge be developed. Enough resources understanding issues of common concern. It generated have been generated during the tsunami to enable the a greater space for governments, NGOs and development of information centres on a regional fishworker organizations to gather and discuss issues. basis. Only such participatory and collaborative efforts can The demand side of rehabilitation efforts was continue to contribute to the larger betterment of also discussed. Communities who were the recipients humanity, in general, and fishing communities, in of aid were often not bothered about the quality of particular, Chandrika Sharma concluded.

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 25 26 Post-tsunami Rehabilitation of ishing Communities and isheries-based Livelihoods in Indonesia

by Hilde Janssen Independent Journalist, Indonesia

December 2005

27 Indonesia Country Report

Contents

Introduction ...... 30 The Context ...... 30 Small-scale fisheries depending on big money...... 31 Traditional dispute settlement and illegal fishing ...... 32 Impact of the armed conflict ...... 32

Rehabilitation of isheries-based Livelihoods ...... 33 Damage to craft, gear and livelihoods ...... 33 ishing craft ...... 34 ishing gear ...... 35 Engines ...... 35 isheries infrastructure ...... 35 Aquaculture ...... 37 unding and organizations...... 37 Co-ordination and collaboration ...... 38 The main players ...... 38 Interventions in the pre-harvest, harvest and post-harvest sectors...... 40 Replacement of craft and gear ...... 41 Changing gear: turning to bigger craft ...... 41 The second priority: fisheries infrastructure ...... 43 Aquaculture infrastructure ...... 44 Post-harvest fishery-based livelihoods ...... 46 Interventions specifically aimed at women and other vulnerable groups...... 46 Rehabilitation of fishing communities: land and shelter issues ...... 47 Number of fishing villages affected and infrastructure ...... 47 Reconstruction progress and relocation ...... 48 Right to return ...... 48 Participation, minimum standards and scientific norms...... 49 Key issues ...... 51 The quality of aid: how to ensure that people get helped well ...... 51 The quantity of aid: danger of oversupply and depletion of resources ...... 51 The question of co-ordination ...... 51 Who comes first? Potential social conflicts ...... 51 Local logging: illegal or justified? ...... 52 Cashing in on social responsibilities ...... 52 The co-operative allergy: looking for suitable alternatives ...... 52 Striving for utopia? Cutting out the middlemen ...... 52

28 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Indonesia Country Report

Conclusions and Recommendations ...... 53 A fine balance: quick, good and participatory ...... 53 Challenging times ahead ...... 53

List of tables Table 1 : Boats lost and damaged in Aceh ...... 34 Table 2 : Estimated price of craft lost and damaged in Aceh ...... 35 Table 3 : Estimated price of fishing gear lost in Aceh ...... 36 Table 4 : Infrastructure lost and damaged in Aceh ...... 37 Table 5 : ish-drying facilities lost...... 38 Table 6 : Embankment area and damage (in ha. and %)...... 39 Table 7 : Replacement and repair of boats in Aceh ...... 40

List of boxes Box 1: Bad Practices: Providing and Allocating Aid ...... 42 Box 2: Best Practices Targeting Improvements ...... 43 Box 3: Good Initiatives: Striving for Transparent Co-operative Management ...... 45 Box 4: Best practices: Participatory Approach ...... 50

Endnotes ...... 54

List of Annexes Annex 1: TOR of the Study...... 58 Annex 2: List of Resource Persons...... 59 Annex 3: List of Key Documents...... 62 Annex 4: Detailed Table: ishing Boats in Aceh pre-tsunami ...... 63 Annex 5: Detailed Table: Boats Lost and Damaged in Aceh ...... 64

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 29 Indonesia Country Report

Introduction statistics and policy papers and assessment studies on The tsunami trigged by a massive earthquake off the fisheries from the ood and Agriculture Organization west coast of Aceh in Sumatra, Indonesia, on 26 of the United Nations (AO) as well as general December 2004 caused enormous damage to almost assessments and appraisal reports from various agencies the entire coastal area of the province of Nanggroe regarding the reconstruction and rehabilitation process. Aceh Darussalam, as Aceh is formally known. The Where used in this study, they are referred to in tsunami also affected some coastal areas in the footnotes. An overview of key documents is given in neighbouring province of North Sumatra, Annex 3. predominantly the island of Nias. The latter was hit by a second strong earthquake in March 2005, which The Context caused even more damage to the island. However, Marine fisheries in the Indonesian province of given the extent of damage and rehabilitation work Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam are predominantly small- going on in Aceh, the focus of this study will be on scale and traditional, both on the east and west coast. the interventions in the coastal areas of Aceh. Although According to Department of isheries statistics the some data will be provided on Nias as well, the island provincial marine capture in 2003 totalled a little more was not visited for the study. than 134,000 tonnes, with a value of Rp863 billion The objectives of this study, as defined in the (US$86 million)1, accounting for 3 per cent of the terms of reference prepared by ICS (see Annex 1), provincial gross product. are to: Most of the catch is sold fresh for local • provide an overview of major interventions consumption, either at the immediate local market or related to rehabilitation of fisheries-based in larger towns such as Banda Aceh and Medan, the livelihoods, and analyze some of the key issues provincial capital of North Sumatra. A small portion and challenges arising from their design, and of the catch is exported to markets in neighbouring the possible impact on fisheries resources and Malaysia and Singapore, depending on species and fishing communities; and quality. The export is handled exclusively by traders in Medan, who have long-established marketing channels • provide an overview of shelter and with neighbouring countries and have direct transport reconstruction interventions specific to fishing links both through Medan’s international airport and communities, and discuss their merits and its Belawan port. Marketing of processed fish, both demerits. salted and dried, is also dominated by Medan traders. The information presented in this study was collected during the months of October and Statistics put the total number of fishers in Aceh November 2005 and is based on both primary and in 2003 at close to 88,000, of which 53,000 were full- secondary sources. Visits were paid to Banda Aceh time and around 34,000, part-time. The 60,000 fishers and other affected areas along the east and west coast on Aceh’s northeast coast outnumber by far the fishers of Aceh province, more specifically the districts of on the west coast. The same holds for the fishing fleet, Aceh Barat (Meulaboh) and Aceh Jaya (Calang and although less pronounced, with 13,000 out of 23,000 Lamno) on the east coast, and the districts of Pidie fishing craft belonging to the northeast coast. The and Bireuen on the west coast. fishing fleet consists mostly of wooden fishing craft The interviewed resource persons include with a length between 4 and 24 m, of which 9,000 are government officials, international donor agencies, local without engines, around 4,500 equipped with outboard non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and engines, and another 10,000 with inboard diesel network organizations and a broad group of engines.2 On the east coast, the bulk of vessels are less representatives of the fishing communities—among then 10 m long, with the most popular being the class others, traditional fishers, fisher leaders, boat builders, of 7.5 m, with 12-23 hp diesel engines. These vessels and fish processors and traders (both male and female). use trammel nets for shrimp, gillnets for fish and A list of persons met is given in Annex 2. The bottom-setting longlines for the larger species. In secondary sources comprise mainly government addition, there is a class of small purse-seiners of 20-

30 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Indonesia Country Report

25 m fishing for small pelagics. On the west coast, the concentrated on the northeast coast in the districts of vessels are of the same type, but generally larger. Most Aceh Utara, Bireuen and Pidie. The farm-gate value fishing craft operate in coastal waters, making day (or of aquaculture produce in Aceh reached US$56.3 mn night) trips. Only the purse-seiners make extended trips, in 2003, according to government statistics.4 AO staying up to two weeks at sea. ew locally registered consultants estimate that the sector employs around vessels are active in deep-sea fishing. Trawling has been 94,000 people, although MMA statistics mention only officially banned in Indonesia, but that does not 15,000 brackishwater farmers. However, the latter is prevent some foreign trawlers vessels from operating only referring to owners, while AO also includes illegally in Indonesia’s territorial waters.3 workers, as each hectare of pond provides an Compared to Aceh, the capture fishery sector in estimated direct employment for 1 to 3 persons. Nias is far smaller and less developed. Government Aquaculture in Aceh is mostly small-scale and statistics put the total number of fishers at 6,000, with traditional low-input farming. Only a small proportion more than 4,600 working full-time, and around 1,350 of farms use intensive or semi-intensive farming registered as part-time fishers. The fishing fleet consists systems. Most traditional farmers operate less than 2 of fewer than 3,000 wooden fishing craft, mostly ha of pond, with varying land/farm ownership and motorized and 5-6.5 m long. The introduction of employment patterns. Some ponds are owner- outboard motors is a recent phenomenon, which operated; others are rented or use contract farming started in the late 1980s. According to 1991 statistics, or a share system. Given the large investment needed, 96 per cent of the then 2,500 craft were not yet some owners borrow capital in exchange for a share motorized, whereas, at present, the vast majority of of the profit, paying labourers also a percentage of the fleet is equipped with outboard or small inboard the harvest value. petrol engines. ishers mainly use hooks-and-line, with gillnets being the second most-used gear. The catch is Small-scale fisheries depending on big money mostly sold at nearby markets for local consumption. Despite its small-scale nature, the fishery sector in Aceh A small portion of high-value fish and shrimp is is directly linked to bigger business interests through a exported through the harbour towns of Sibolga and variety of complex patterns of capital inputs. Those Padang, both on the Sumatra mainland. providing the capital are generally referred to as toukay, The provincial department of fisheries has the that is, boss, with a clear distinction between toukay bot authority to issue fishing licences for vessels up to 30 (owner or shareholder of a boat) and toukay bangku gross tonnes (GT). Larger vessels are handled by the (literally ‘banker’, usually big traders who provide loans central government, that is, the Ministry of Marine for operating costs like fuel and food, or capital for Affairs and isheries in Jakarta. Those licences generally traders to buy fish. cover an extended area, beyond the borders of the While most fishing craft are privately owned by provincial territorial waters. The law requires that the individual fishers, some of the larger fishing craft (17- central government consults, and requests approval 24 m length) are fully or partly owned by businessmen. from, the concerned provincial authorities before Most of the commercial purse-seine fishing craft in issuing a licence. Banda Aceh are owned by businessmen-cum-investors. In addition to the capture fishery, Aceh has They do not interfere directly with the daily fishing developed a substantial aquaculture industry in salt-, operations, which are the responsibility of the pawang, brackish- and freshwater species. With a total the captain, assisted by the engineman. Some production of 29,000 tonnes in 2003, mostly of shrimp boatowners are active or former pawangs, sometimes and milkfish, and an area of 36,000 ha, Aceh ranks operating one boat themselves, while a second (or among the top five of Indonesian provinces in more) boat(s) are operated by relatives or other locals. aquaculture. Aquaculture, especially pond cultivation, The financial arrangements of profit sharing vary by which dominates the sector, provides a major locality and region. In general, the boatowner takes a contribution in terms of income and employment for 50-60 per cent cut of the profit, of which he gives 5- coastal communities. Aceh’s aquaculture sector is 7 per cent to the pawang. The latter also gets a bigger

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 31 Indonesia Country Report

share of the 40-50 per cent set aside for the crew. In provincial body, thus adjusting it to its own hierarchical case the toukay bangku takes care of the operating cost, administrative system. The new structure should he is also entitled to a profit share of 5-10 per cent on enhance the partnership between panglima laot and the top of the reimbursement of operating cost. Credit fisheries department, both at the district and provincial is a means to ‘strengthen’ the relation between trader level, to promote the development of fisheries. Some and fishers: money is used as a moral force to oblige applaud the extension, arguing that the often minimum the fishers to sell their produce to their ‘loyal’ trader. level of education of local leaders is now being backed The same goes for local fish traders, who receive up by competent and skilled staff of the provincial working capital from Medan-based exporters, which body, enabling the institution to advocate the interests compels them to use the same channel to market their of fishers’ rights.6 products. Others, however, oppose the move, claiming the While outsiders often define the credit system as panglima laot should stick to its traditional role at the exploitative, local fishers and traders do not local level, focusing on dispute settlement, not on automatically share this point of view. While some government policies and politics. The government agree, and point out the dangers of getting trapped in regulations to strengthen the position of the panglima debt, sometimes resulting in loss of boat ownership, laot, at the same time, undermine its independence, as others tend to differ. With no or little access to formal newly elected leaders have to be confirmed by an bank loans, they are in need of a source of easy credit. official letter of appointment. urthermore, the toukay brings in valuable marketing The institutional changes of the panglima laot knowledge and skills, which the fishers lack. Some coincide with a successful campaign by fishers against make a clear distinction between trustworthy local illegal fishing by foreign trawlers, mostly from Thailand toukays and the exploitive outsider. Others stress and Myanmar. Indonesian waters are a heaven for illegal 7 regional differences in the degree of dependency. fishing operations, due to a variety of factors. While modern equipped vessels from neighbouring countries get attracted by the richness of the Indonesian fishing Traditional dispute settlement and illegal fishing waters, Indonesia has difficulties safeguarding the area Aceh fishing communities still acknowledge and due to the vast maritime waters, lack of monitoring, respect the traditional local authority of the panglima control and surveillance facilities like radar, helicopters laot, the so-called ‘commander of the sea’, whose and speedboats, and the existence of deep-rooted territory is restricted to a single estuary or bay. This corruption. Until the late 1990s, the territorial waters traditional institution dates back to the 14th century of Aceh were no exception. The panglima laot played and was established by the ruling sultan when he an important role in the anti-illegal fishing campaign, appointed local leaders among the fishers to collect organizing local fishers, with the support of several taxes. Later it developed into a fully-fledged traditional NGOs. Their actions resulted in the seizure of around rights institution, with rules and regulations governing 40 Thai trawlers and their subsequent public auction. coastal communities with regard to fishing operations The proceeds from the action became a point of as well as social life, including dispute settlement. The dispute, as they were eyed by several parties and rules, for example, dictate who is entitled to the catch claimed by both the local panglima laot and the provincial sighted at sea; ban fishers from fishing on ridays; body that was established around that time. In the oblige them to stop fishing and start searching in the end, the money, the substantial sum of Rp11.9 bn unfortunate event of a fisherman drowning; and (US$1.9 mn) was transferred to the YPMAN enforce protection of their coastal environment. oundation, an educational foundation set up by the Aceh is divided into 140 lhoks or estuaries, each provincial panglima laot to provide scholarships for with its own set of rules and leader.5 ishers of each children of fishers. area elect their own panglima laot lhok, according to their own rules and regulations. In recent years, the Impact of the armed conflict government has become involved, and has topped or almost three decades, Aceh has been the battlefield up the local panglima laot structure with a co-ordinating of an armed conflict between the rebel ree Aceh

32 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Indonesia Country Report

Movement (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka or GAM) and the Rehabilitation of isheries-based Indonesian security forces. An estimated 15,000 people Livelihoods have lost their lives due to the conflict, most casualties The tsunami that hit the coast of Aceh in the early being civilians. Although the rebel fighters constitute morning of 26 December 2004 caused severe loss just a small group among the 4.2 mn Acehnese, the and damage to a majority of the coastal communities movement, at certain times, could count many in terms of lives, shelter, livelihoods and infrastructure. supporters among the population. Most civilians, The huge waves devastated more than 800 km of however, have unwillingly become part of the conflict, Aceh’s coast, penetrating 1-2 km and, at some places, being suspected by one or the other side of being a even 3-6 km inland. Nearly 130,000 people in the spy or supporter, facing extortion and being forced province are now confirmed dead, with another to share their harvest or business profits, having their 37,000 missing, presumably perished. In addition, at movements restricted, and living in fear. The coastal least 1,659 people died in Nias due to the 28 March communities and fishers are no exception. 2005 earthquake. ishing activities have, at times, been severely A substantial number of fishers lost their lives in hampered due to the conflict. In many coastal areas, the disaster. In total, an estimated 9,083 fishers perished fishers have been regularly subjected to surveillances or a little more than 10 per cent of the fishers working and checks by the security forces, thus being prevented in the affected area. Many of those who survived had from going to sea. At times, fishers have had to stay to cope with the loss of their loved ones. The majority ashore due to a ban announced by one or the other of the casualties were women, children and the elderly. party, sometimes because their fishing craft were seized, The death toll ratio for women and men was 3:1.11 but more often out of sheer fear. Local people were constantly in danger of being branded as spies of the military or conversely as members of the GAM.8 Damage to craft, gear and livelihoods The conflict has not only affected the fishing The total damage to fisheries-based livelihoods is an capture activities directly but also indirectly through estimated US$600 mn, of the total of US$1.2 bn lost the decline or destruction of basic infrastructure, lack in the productive sectors as a whole, that is, 50 per of regular transport facilities, forced closure of ice- cent of the total losses. These figures cover both production units and trading companies.9 In many damage to private and public property, including coastal areas, the fisheries infrastructure was thus already infrastructure, and also loss of business income.12 damaged before the tsunami struck. Despite substantial During the first three months, all fisheries-based shrimp aquaculture production being located in Aceh, livelihoods came to a halt. Even the operational vessels all but three of the export processing plants had already stayed ashore, firstly because everybody was busy shifted to Medan before the tsunami, due to the looking for relatives, cleaning up the mess and adjusting conflict. to live in refugee camps or with family. People also Although the conflict did more harm than good lost their taste for fish, with tens of thousands of dead to the fisheries sector in Aceh, the presence of the bodies being washed up by the sea. Now fisheries military kept illegal fishing activities at bay.10 Not long activities have gradually restarted, first by those whose after the successful action and seizure of 40 Thai fishing vessels, gear and tools were not damaged by the vessels, the conflict intensified again, resulting in an tsunami, and later also by those who had received aid intensified presence of the Indonesian navy in the to restart their businesses, although only partly. Many territorial waters of the coast of Aceh. The short- started looking for other temporary work, like cash- lived peace agreement, which was initiated in 2002, for-work projects, or selling cigarettes, running small did not result in a significant reduction of military food stalls, and so on, to make ends meet. It will take presence, which eventually increased when the peace some more time before the affected communities can process collapsed and the military emergency was stand on their own feet again. Many are still dependent announced in mid-2003. The military emergency was on the monthly food ration. later reduced to a civil emergency, but on the ground, The tsunami has affected all: small fishers, big vessel the military retained a dominant role. owners and crew members, aquaculture farmers and

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 33 Indonesia Country Report

Table 1 ishing craft lost and damaged in Aceh Type of Before Lost Damaged boat tsunami East West Total East West Total East West Total OB 3,155 1,337 4,492 1,774 429 2,203 164 51 569 (49.0%) (12.7%) IB 5,957 3,909 9,866 1,509 902 2,411 1,140 530 1,670 (24.4%) (16.9%) N 3,907 5,889 8,996 2,110 894 3,004 14 160 174 (33.4%) (1.9%) Total 13,019 11,135 23,354 5,393 2,225 7.618 1,318 741 2,413 (32.6%) (10.3%) Source: AO, March 2005 or a more detailed breakdown per district, see Annex 5.

their workforce, fish processors, workers and fish engines are mostly used by fishing communities that traders.13 Those with a broad network of unaffected do not have access to a natural harbour, and have to family members and friends had a headstart, being ‘park’ their fishing craft right on the beach. More able to borrow money to start some kind of business inboard motors were probably saved because they by themselves, not needing to wait for help from aid were near usually shallow estuaries, which might have agencies. provided some protection. Others were saved because Below is a more detailed account of the damage they were at sea. The relatively low losses among non- to craft, gear, engines, fisheries infrastructure and motorized fishing craft could be because they are aquaculture. found operating more upriver, as many of the coastal vessels have become motorized since the late 1980s. ishing craft However, the district break-up of the losses and The capture fishery in Aceh and Nias14 has suffered damage of fishing craft by propulsion (see Annex 5) extensive damage as more than one-third of the craft paints a different and more varied picture. In the heavily in the affected areas has been lost. In total, more than affected districts like Banda Aceh, Aceh Besar, Aceh 10,000 fishing craft from various types and sizes were Jaya and Nagan Raya, the loss of non-motorized lost or damaged.15 The ones that remained intact were mostly out at sea, including the bigger purse-seiners. fishing craft equals, more or less, the percentage of Table 1 gives an overview of the damage in Aceh loss of fishing craft with outboard and/or inboard to fishing craft, classified as those with outboard engines. No clear pattern emerges from this district engines (OB), with inboard diesel engines (IB), and break-up of loss of vessels, indicating that the variation non-motorized fishing craft (N), with separate figures might be based on differences in local situations and for the east and west coasts. In general, fishing craft circumstances. on the east coast are open-decked with an inboard The island of Nias lost around 40 per cent of its diesel engine, varying in length between 5 and 12 m, fishing fleet, with a total of 1,062 fishing craft being with most being 7 or 8 m long. On the west coast, lost or severely damaged. The damaged fishing craft more fishing craft are fully decked, with an average consist of 650 fishing craft with outboard engines and size of 12 m. an average length of 6.5 m, and 412 non-motorized The data indicate a significant heavier loss of canoes less than 5 m long. Many fishing craft were vessels with outboard engines in Aceh, compared to damaged by the second earthquake in March 2005, vessels with inboard engines and non-motorized by the 2-m high waves that hit the shores and thus the fishing craft. One reason might be that outboard fishing craft.

34 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Indonesia Country Report

Table 2 Estimated value of craft lost and damaged in Aceh Area Lost Damaged Total Number Est. Value Number Est. Value Number Est. Value (US$) (US$) (US$) East coast 5,393 6,388,278 1,672 934,667 7,065 7,322,945

West coast 2,464 16 1,908,301 742 184,500 3,206 2,092,801 Total 7,857 8,246,579 2,414 1,119,167 10,271 9,415,746

Source: AO March 2005

Replacement of lost craft will cost an estimated most popular, the Chinese ‘Dompeng’ inboard diesel US$10 mn, according to AO. The isheries engine, accounts for one-third of the damaged engines. Department earlier estimated the damage of craft to Its popularity is largely due to its cheap price and easy be around US$28 mn, including damage to engines. maintenance.19 A Honda 7.5-hp inboard engine costs Although separate estimates of loss of craft, gear and almost US$4,000, whereas a 7.5-hp Dompeng costs engine of both agencies vary significantly, the total sum under US$300, according to AO price estimates. In of estimated damage is more or less the same, that is, general, it is the price that decides the choice of engine, between US$38 mn (AO) and US$44 mn (DKP). not the quality. ishers are aware that, in general, expensive engines last longer, but their limited resources ishing gear restrict their options. Some donor agencies opt for Around three-quarters of the fishing gear in Aceh’s quality replacement, providing the more expensive tsunami-hit areas were lost or severely damaged since Yanmar engines. Most, however, just replace the lost both gear onboard the fishing craft as well as gear engines with the same cheap type of engine, despite stored on the beaches and in houses and sheds, got its limited life span. washed away. Of the 26,000 units of gear inventoried in 2003, around 20,000 units were damaged, with an isheries infrastructure estimated financial loss of US$18 mn. Moneywise, The tsunami almost completely destroyed the existing the damage to gear is twice as high as the damage to infrastructure for capture fisheries in Aceh, including craft.17 Most vessels are equipped with several sets of its biggest fishing port in Lampulo, Banda Aceh. On different nets, which are used depending on the season, the west coast, all harbours and landing piers between the type of fish and fishing method (day or night). Lhok Nga and Meulaboh are totally wiped out, with The most commonly used gear in Aceh is the gillnet the exception of the Meulaboh harbour, which is still (32 per cent) and the fishing lines (38 per cent), operational, although heavily damaged. On the east according to 2003 statistics, while purse-seines, shrimp coast, the larger facilities have been badly damaged, nets and traps account for around 7 per cent each (see and as far south as Lhokseumawe, the smaller landing also Annex 4 for overview of pre-tsunami type and sites were almost all lost. number of fishing gear). Indonesia categorizes harbours and landing centres according to size and budget resources, ranging from Engines type A to E. The fishery harbours fall in the categories The AO inventory of lost and damaged engines type C to E, with the larger type C facilities being indicates that only few engines of the damaged funded and run by the provincial government, while motorized fishing craft were not damaged at all, while the smaller D and E facilities fall under the responsibility most, that is, more than 6,700 engines, were severely of the district administration. In general, they have a damaged. They can be considered as lost, with an jetty or concrete wharf with a covered concrete auction estimated replacement cost of almost US$10 mn. space and a meeting hall, which often doubles as a The damaged engines consist of a broad variety godown and has a separate prayer facility. Many of types, both inboard and outboard engine.18 The more smaller and simpler facilities have been

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 35 Indonesia Country Report

Table 3 Estimated price of fishing gear lost in Aceh Lost units Estimated price (US$) Gear Mat* East West Total East West Total Drift gillnet Mn 65 269 334 5,778 91,167 96,945 Bottom gillnet Mlt 3,656 1,123 4,779 1,212,167 327,400 1,539,567 Shrimp gillnet Mlt 726 150876 221,375 49,125 270,500 Trolling line Mn 3,391 635 4,026 10,682,222 1,265,278 11,947,500 Hook-and-line Mn 4,429 4,054 8,483 1,322,583 346,111 1,668,649 Bottom longline Mlt 424 187 611 36,333 81,667 118,000 Drift longline Mlt — 4 4 — 1,778 1,778 Beach-seine Mlt 31 54 85 103,333 180,000 283,333 Mini-purse-seine Mlt 419 — 419 698,333 — 698,333 Purse-seine Mlt 121 10132 1,478,889 122,222 1,601,111 Danish seine Mlt — 33 33 — 55,000 55,000 Mini-trawl Mlt — 35 35 — 77,778 77,778 Total 13,262 6,554 19,816 15,761,014 2,597,525 18,358,539

Source: AO March 2005 * Material: Mn=Monofilament, Mlt=Multifilament

funded and are run by local fishing communities depend on two ice plants in Banda Aceh with capacities themselves.20 of 35 tpd and 50 tpd. On the east coast, fishers have The table 4 gives an overview of the damage to do with limited quantities from local sources, among caused by the tsunami to the various infrastructure, others one privately owned plant in Pidie. Even in the such as ports and harbours, landing piers, landing sites, present time of still limited fishing activities, there is a ice plants and meeting halls (also auction halls and shortage of ice, with extra transportation costs adding godowns with prayer facility) and fish aggregating to an already considerable increase of prices. Many devices (AD). small-scale fishers make their own ice in domestic Just like the landing centres, the already limited refrigerators. number of operating ice plants were also severely hit The ice shortage also has a major impact on by the tsunami. Twenty of the 30 ice plants were marketing. Without ice, fishmongers are compelled to damaged. Some, however, had been closed down buy only small quantities of fish, which they can sell before the tsunami due to the civil conflict. The panglima quickly before the fish turns bad. The only other laot estimates that 15 of the 20 damaged ice plants alternative—to salt or dry the fish—is hardly an option were operational at the time of the tsunami. Two of post-tsunami, due to the damaged fish processing the biggest commercial plants, with capacities of 45 infrastructure and the lack of working capital. Many and 65 tonnes per day (tpd), were destroyed. These fish vendors themselves live in the coastal area and big ice plants were located, respectively, in Krueng Raya have lost not only their houses, but also baskets, ice- near Banda Aceh, and Meulaboh. Many of the smaller boxes and their bicycles or motorcycles, which served plants in small centres have also been destroyed. On as their means of transport. the west coast, no ice plants were operational after the ish-processing infrastructure, in particular the tsunami, except for a few smaller plants south of sheds, drying racks and cooking equipment of the Meulaboh in Blang Pidie. The northern section has to small-scale fish drying units, have been almost totally

36 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Indonesia Country Report

Table 4 Infrastructure lost and damaged in Aceh Area AD Landing pier Landing site Ice plant uelstation Meetinghall East coast 164 22 32 13 9 42 West coast 15 2 25 7 1 32 Total 179 24 57 201074

Source: AO March 2005 destroyed, as most of them were situated directly on With the loss of the ponds, farmers also lost their the beach. A total of 1,235 fish-drying facilities are crops and thus their working capital, with the prawn lost or damaged beyond repair. Most drying facilities seeds and milkfish being swept way. Extensive damage are on the east coast, as shown in the table below. was also suffered by 193 of the 223 shrimp hatcheries Marketing figures indicate a thriving industry, with across Aceh. On Nias and Simeulue islands, many of 20 per cent of the fish capture being processed, mostly the fish cages have been damaged or destroyed. dried and salted. The major centres of fish processing All in all, due to the tsunami, half of the aquaculture are located on the east coast in areas such as Pante operations came to a halt, directly affecting the Raja, where many vessels use anchovy nets to harvest livelihoods of an estimated 40,000 people who had the small anchovies or ikan teri, which is the most found employment in the sector. The tsunami also popular dried-fish species. destroyed the aquaculture training centre of the isheries Salt-farm units were also severely damaged, with Department in Ujung Batee, near Banda Aceh. salt pans inundated and destroyed sheds and cooking The damage and destruction in both capture gear swept away. Like fish-processing units, they were fisheries and aquaculture have had a direct impact on also located close to the sea and thus were the hardest the livelihoods of many coastal people, whose work hit. Salt farming is mostly done by poor families and got directly or indirectly affected. Neither were other is one of the sectors where many women are active, economic sectors spared: farmland and crops got just as in fish processing. damaged because they were inundated by salt seawater, and fields were covered with silt and debris, while Aquaculture craftsmen and shopkeepers lost their tools and stock. Aceh’s aquaculture consists predominantly of embankment fish farming, which is brackishwater After the tsunami, government officials, including shrimp and milkfish cultivation in ponds or tambaks, teachers, were more or less the only group of workers located close to the shore. The rapid development of whose incomes were safeguarded. the sector has gone hand in hand with a rapid unding and organizations reduction of the coastal mangrove forests, especially It will take an estimated US$5.8 bn to repair the on the east coast, leaving little or no protection against the tsunami waves. It resulted in extensive damage to damage the tsunami and the earthquake caused in Aceh ponds and associated infrastructure such as dykes, and Nias. Most of that money, that is, US$4.4 bn, floodgates, farmers’ huts and machinery. The damage have already been committed to specific projects. In ranged from light damage to dykes to complete loss total, an unprecedented sum of US$7.5 bn was of ponds. Along with the waves came building debris, pledged by the following sources: multilateral donors: mud and silt, causing heavy sedimentation in ponds US$2 bn; bilateral donors: US$1.6 bn; NGOs: US$1.8 and irrigation canals. The damage to the canals has bn; and the Government of Indonesia: US$2.1 bn. also disrupted water supply in other ponds further Within days after the tsunami, Indonesia lifted inland. This has caused a production stop of an Aceh’s military restrictions, letting thousands of foreign estimated extra 5,000 ha of fish ponds, apart from troops enter with their equipment. Along came the the direct damage and loss of around 20,000 ha of civilian aid workers, both professionals and volunteers embankment, as shown in Table 6.21 from all over the world. Many left once the emergency

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 37 Indonesia Country Report

Table 5 ish-drying facilities lost

Area Drying facilities East coast 1,060 West coast 175 Total 1,235

Source: AO, March 2005

period ended, spending over US$1 bn on relief aid. comprehensive law on disaster mitigation is still lacking. Hundreds of organizations stayed back for the Given the need of the presidential regulation to rehabilitation and reconstruction work, among others establish an effective co-ordination agency, the 124 international NGOs (INGOs), 430 local NGOs, parliament is now drafting a new law on disaster dozens of donor and UN organizations and various mitigation, which allows the creation of a new government organizations22. independent agency.23

Co-ordination and collaboration The main players The Government of Indonesia was clearly overwhelmed by the huge disaster and the wave of BRR aid agencies. Local governments were severely affected BRR’s main role is to co-ordinate the disbursement with many casualties among their staff and loss and of aid funds and ensure that they are used effectively, damage of facilities. Disaster experts from outside, quickly and transparently. The agency operates from mostly foreign emergency workers from UN its headquarters in Banda Aceh, with two regional institutions and INGOs took the lead in the co- offices in Nias and Jakarta. BRR has a full time staff ordination of aid. They only partly succeeded, unable of 124, with 24 technical advisers. As a co-ordinating to include local organizations and small donor agencies body, it tries to keep track of all reconstruction due to language problems and perceived foreign activities, seeks to ensure community participation and domination. The latter perception was also fuelled by quality standards are upheld, identifies problems, gaps the security forces and politicians trying to impose a and areas of need, and helps find solutions in close deadline on the presence of foreign aid workers. It collaboration with government bodies, NGOs, took the Indonesian government more than three communities and civil society. months to establish a separate co-ordination body by BRR has several divisions, each concentrating on presidential regulation, called the Badan Rehabilitasi a specific area of reconstruction like shelter, education, dan Rekonstruksi (BRR). It took almost another three health, and natural resources and livelihoods. isheries months before BRR became fully operational, mainly are a separate subdivision under natural resources and due to delays in budget clearance. livelihoods. The fisheries subdivision works in The BRR operates on top of the existing Co- consultation with a steering group, on which the main ordination Agency for the Management of Disasters players in the sector are represented, such as the and Displaced Persons (Bakornas), which is headed Provincial Department of isheries, its technical by the vice-president, aided by nine ministers, counterparts from AO and the Asian Development governors, the national police and Indonesian military Bank (ADB), some donor agencies and the provincial chiefs. Bakornas has subsidiaries at the regional and panglima laot. municipal levels, but they lack operational funds, which should be provided by their respective local Government fishery institutions governments. Most ministries have their own Three fisheries-related government bodies are directly mechanism and funds to provide emergency and involved in the rehabilitation process, namely, the disaster aid. Indonesia has more than 100 legal Ministry of Marine Affairs and isheries (MMA), regulations regarding disaster management, but a the provincial Department of isheries (DKP), and

38 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Indonesia Country Report

Table 6 Embankment area and damage (in ha. and %) Area Pre-tsunami Damaged Damage embankment embankment percentage East coast 44,624 19,826 44 West coast 452 452 100 Total 45,077 20,279 45

Source: AO, March 2005 the district Bureau of isheries. The Jakarta-based post-harvest facilities; coastal resource rehabilitation; MMA is responsible for the major harbours and and support services restoration and provision. ADB ports, and is involved in planning and channelling of and the Government of Indonesia signed the ETESP multilateral and bilateral projects. In the latter capacity, agreements in April 2005. Disbursement of the 2005 MMA is the facilitating counterpart for the fisheries project of US$7.4 mn has been delayed by slow programmes of both ADB and AO. On the ground, budget approval but is now underway. The 2005 however, the aforementioned agencies work in close budget year will be extended to April 2006 and the collaboration with the provincial isheries Department project focus will be on nine sub-districts in Aceh Besar, and with the district isheries Bureau. With the start Pidie and Aceh Utara. The first grant disbursement of the decentralization process in 2001, a major part agreements, which were signed only in December of the provincial responsibilities were transferred to 2005, allocate a US$2.5 mn grant to the development the district level.24 Aceh’s Special Autonomy status of sustainable livelihoods in 20 coastal communities reinforces the provincial authority with extra funds in Aceh Besar and Aceh Utara, while another US$1.5 and the possibility of entering into forms of direct mn goes to rehabilitation of 30 ha of coral reefs and international co-operation.25 300 ha of mangrove forests.26 During the next few years, large amounts of aid AO is one of the major players when it comes will be channelled to, and through, the isheries to technical inputs. It has produced a series of Department. The debt moratorium relocation is assessments of the damage and rehabilitation in various estimated to add US$24 mn to the fisheries budget, fisheries subsectors, such as capture fisheries, while the ADB fisheries project budget is around aquaculture, boatbuilding, infrastructure and fish US$30 mn for three years and the Multi-Donor Trust processing. AO data, combined with the MMA und can generate another few million dollars. The baseline data, serve as a basic source for policy present US$2.9 mn budget allocation for 2005 is development. AO has established an office in Banda mostly being spent on rehabilitation and improvement Aceh and is running several projects. However, of harbour landing facilities (PPI) in five subdistricts, contrary to other UN organizations, its resources are namely, Sabang, Aceh Besar, Pidie, Bireuen and Calang. limited. AO is now trying to secure access to the well- The US$7.4 mn ADB budget for 2005 will also be funded INGOs like the International ederation of spent on rehabilitation in both Aceh and Nias. the Red Cross and Red Crescent (IRC), offering technical assistance for the planning and UN and international financial institutions implementation of fisheries rehabilitation projects.27 Moneywise, ADB is the biggest player in the rehabilitation of fisheries, with its US$30 mn ETESP. International and local NGOs (Earthquake and Tsunami Emergency Support Many international and local organizations, and also Project). ADB consultants have already drafted individuals, are contributing to the rehabilitation of the plans for ETESP, which comprises six fisheries, which was one of the major sources of subcomponents, namely: community empowerment; livelihood in the tsunami-affected coastal areas. None, rehabilitation of small-scale capture fisheries; however, focuses exclusively on fisheries and fishing rehabilitation of aquaculture facilities and production communities. Donors such as Oxfam, Mercy Corps, systems; rehabilitation of small-scale fish-landing and ICR, and also UNDP and JICA, provide funds for

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Table 7 Replacement and repair of fishing craft in Aceh Progress Material and Size* Total Activities W-A -A W-B -B W-C -C W-D -D N+RNNRNNRNNRNNR Delivered 717 98 103 642 101 118 80 21 — 1 4 — 1,661 224 Under 371 — — 532 17 146 224 6 — — — — 1,273 23 construction Pledged 259 — 100 206 8 — 451 — — 46 — — 1,062 8 Total 1,347 98 203 1,380 126 264 755 27 — 47 4 — 3,996 255

*Material W=Wood, =ibre, Size A=5-6.5 m, B=7-11 m, C=12-16 m, D=16+ m +N= New replaced, R= Repaired Source: Panglima Laot, 29 September 2005

various economic activities, starting with cash-for- cautions against undermining the institution work projects, and are gradually moving on to target by burdening the panglima laot with financial specific sectors, including fisheries. Most of these funds responsibilities, thus creating a potential source of are channelled to local organizations that serve as conflict and distrust. implementation partners. Only a few of these local NGOs had been working with coastal communities Interventions in the pre-harvest, harvest and previously with a specific focus on fishery issues, post-harvest sectors including Pugar in Banda Aceh and Papan in “Don’t give them fish, but a boat to go fishing” was Meulaboh.28 A few others like YBK, CDI, Paska and a piece of advice many literally acted upon. Providing Sahara were active in fishing communities but focusing fishing craft to the coastal communities has proved on the broader issue of livelihood and economic to be a popular way of helping people, mostly so resources. because it was perceived as a quick, visible, not-too- complicated and also not-too-expensive intervention Traditional institutions as far as small fishing craft are concerned. Panglima laot is the only local fishers’ institution that In general, one can say that all interventions aimed has a long history in fisheries and is strongly embedded at providing the affected communities the ‘tools’ in the coastal communities. As such, it has attracted a needed to restart their economic activities and enable lot of attention from aid agencies, who see it as a them to look after themselves. The most common source of information but also as a potential service interventions are: provider. Most focus on the provincial panglima laot • Cash-for-work: clearing debris from landing as the central representative of the regional network, sites, beaches, estuaries and ponds, replanting which is easily accessible with its office in Banda Aceh mangroves. and some well-educated English-speaking staff. The • Providing tools, sheds and training to provincial panglima laot itself is also actively positioning boatbuilders. the organization as a major stakeholder in the • Repairing and replacing craft, gear and engines. rehabilitation process, to safeguard the interest of the • Rehabilitating embankment areasand irrigation local fishing communities. However, the local panglima canals. laot is not always directly involved, and has sometimes • Helping kickstart sector-related and been even sidelined by aid agencies and other local supporting economic activities like production leaders, especially during the initial relief phase. Now of ice and salt; provide transport and capital most are at least consulted, while a large group is more to fish vendors; rebuild fish-processing units. actively participating and sometimes implementing • Repairing infrastructure on a small scale, as projects themselves. The provincial organization many of the larger projects are still pending.

40 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Indonesia Country Report

Although government and aid agencies aim to “Build for the aid agencies because of its affordable price a Better Aceh”, interventions in this direction have and simple design, which make it easy to provide. The been limited, partly due to the chaotic start and lack distribution of the fishing craft across districts has been of co-ordination, but also because some targeted uneven and supply-driven. The four districts close to improvements are part of the long-term plan, which Banda Aceh account for 40 per cent of boat losses are still under process and not implemented as yet, but have received 75 per cent of all fishing craft like, for example, integrated infrastructure projects. distributed or repaired.30 Other districts like Bireuen, Interventions that go beyond replacement of losses Lhokseumawe and Simeulue are still waiting for the include: much-needed boat support. • Boatbuilders’ training, focusing on technical In the hasty boat supply process, many problems quality improvements related to design and occurred. Some donors only provided the boat, material. leaving it to the fishers to buy the engine and the gear, • Promotion of transparent local co-operative which are far more expensive. BRR estimates that of management structures; strengthening local the 4,000 fishing craft that are being provided, only institutions; strengthening bargaining position 1,000 have been equipped with an engine and only of fishers and local traders. 600 have a complete set of gear; thus, less than a quarter • Promotion of community participatory of the fishing craft can be used right away to go to approaches. sea. Some donors delivered the aid without consulting • Safeguarding the environment by replanting the community and its leaders, creating a potential mangroves to strengthen embankment areas; source of social conflict, especially if the aid was promote environmental friendly fish culture, limited to a few people, or the recipients did not have • Promote sustainable fishery methods but also a boat before the tsunami and sometimes were not expand deep-sea, export-oriented fisheries. even fishers at all. In other cases, the boat designs were • Quality improvement of fish processing. not fit for the local conditions or did not meet minimum quality standards, thus endangering the lives Replacement of craft and gear of the fishers. Problems with design and quality were According to the government co-ordination agency partly due to the fact that fishing craft were ordered BRR, a total number of 1,210 fishing craft had been outside the concerned villages, with boatbuilders not built by the end of November 2005, with a further being familiar with local preferences.31 The huge 7,234 more planned. A far more detailed assessment demand for fishing craft also caused many ordinary by the panglima laot at the request of AO already carpenters and furniture makers to jump at counted more than 1,600 fishing craft being replaced the opportunity, despite no or very limited by the end of September. In BRR’s year summary knowledge about boatbuilding. Indirectly, this also report, the figures are updated, with 3,122 fishing craft caused a shortage of suitable and well-dried timber of a total of 4,717 lost fishing craft having been varieties. replaced or being built.29 The different figures, and more so, the large Changing gear: turning to bigger craft differences, underline the rather chaotic aid and lack The major parties involved in fishery rehabilitation of co-ordination, particularly during the first six (DKP, BRR, AO, ADB and panglima laot) all quote a months. Hundreds of individuals, companies, charity target number of 6,000-6,500 fishing craft for groups, aid organizations and government institutions replacement. This figure is based on the assessed loss have been offering help to the affected fishing of 7,000 fishing craft minus 10-15 per cent representing communities, offering fishing craft (new and second- the percentage of casualties among the fishers.33 All hand) or funding for the construction of fishing craft, agree that with an estimated 4,000 small fishing craft ranging from one single boat to hundreds of fishing built and in the process of being built, the required craft. As can be seen in the table, most boat aid focused quantum has been reached. They stress it is now time on the 7-11 m fishing craft. This size is the most to focus on the construction of larger fishing craft, common used in Aceh and many of them got lost or which, until now, only have been built in small damaged. However, it is also a popular boat category numbers, as is indicated above in Table 7.34

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Most organizations have kept the replacement of The only option to secure funding from aid large fishing craft at bay, not only because it is far more agencies for larger vessels is through co-operative expensive, but more so because of the ownership management, by setting up a co-operative or similar dilemma. Helping the owner of a boat larger than 16 institution. Now that the target for small fishing craft m is perceived as helping the ‘rich’ employer, while appears to have been reached, several agencies are neglecting his ‘poor’ crew, although the crew will profit exploring the organizational options. Some already through employment and wages. Only now are some have established co-operatives and other structures to agencies planning to construct larger vessels. ensure a more ‘equal’ distribution of profit. As In general, the owners are left to find a solution mentioned earlier, this intervention is strongly supported themselves. Those with repairable damage depend by the major players. AO, for example, is already largely on their families and friends to borrow money, showing the way by collaborating with one of the while some look for investor support, as banking credit IRC country members, Belgium.35 seems beyond their reach. Those who have lost their At the community level, the shift of focus to larger vessels have to accept their fate and start all over again. vessels is criticized by the local panglima laot and fishers

Box 1: Bad Practices: Providing and Allocating Aid

Dumping aid without prior consultation: The Kuwaiti Red Crescent handed out around 120 fibre canoe boats across affected areas, but none of them are used for fishing as the boats are considered too small and too light. “If used at all, they are just good enough to transport jerry cans of drinking water,” notes one beneficiary.

One source doesn’t cover the variety of local preferences: Before starting the boat project, MS Lamno consulted one of the fishing communities in the affected area. Their preference for a boat with outboard motor became MS’s standard model. That preference is based on the fact that the concerned villages lack a natural harbour, forcing the fishers to pull the boats ashore and take the engines home. However, in neighbouring villages with access to a natural harbour, people prefer inboard motors, according to the panglima laot and fishers of Ujung Muloh. They, however, were not consulted in the matter, and now will have to accept the outboard motor boats. Some fishers have turned to family members for loans to buy a boat with inboard motor, which, they argue, is cheaper in operation cost (using diesel, instead of petrol) and easier to maintain. They used to have boats with a ‘house’ or living area, which would double up as a kitchen and bedroom for night fishing. Nowadays, boatbuilders reject orders for these models as they are more labour-intensive and the boatbuilders already have a lot of orders from donor agencies for smaller boats.

Wrong target group: Not all men in coastal villages are fishers, even less so if they live a few miles inland. The eagerness to help quickly sometimes resulted in superficial checks and balances, thus leading to instances of boats being given out to non-fishers, while the real fishers remained grounded ashore, empty-handed. That explains why in Jangka Buaya, the 18 boats donated by USAID remain ashore most of the time, as their owners are probably busy cultivating their fields.

Bad quality mixed with bad politics: Nobody seems interested in the 70 boats the Ministry of Social Affairs built in Meulaboh. Most are still waiting for an owner, while the dispute over the lack of quality and political collusion is heating up. The ministry is accused of handing the contract to a party member of the minister, who spent much less than quoted, using bad quality wood. While there are far more examples of badly built boats, which are usually discreetly abandoned (as local custom requires a show of respect and not a hurting of the feelings of well-intentioned donors), these boats attract a lot of public protest, boosted by political opponents.

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Box 2: Best Practices: Targeting Improvements

A co-ordinated effort: Boatbuilding brochure and boat builders training: Technical assistance targeting both donor agencies and boatbuilders turns out a worthwhile intervention. A mission of a master boatbuilder of AO set off the alarm bells regarding the dangerously bad quality of newly built boats. A simple booklet with photographs of bad and best practices provides guidance to the lay aid worker and convinced several organizations like HELP Germany to enlist their boatbuilders for a co-financed training in their own workshop, thus ensuring the implementation of the lessons learned. AO boat experts still regularly visit the HELP boatbuilders to check the quality standards. Guidance is a must as one training will not change traditional methods and design. Some participants, although gladly acknowledging that they learned a lot, were still sticking to the old methods, because “that is what the fishers want, that suits the local circumstances, those materials are easily available.”32 In control: community participation. Several funding agencies work closely together with communities to asses the situation (mapping assets) and consult with the panglima laot before they start boatbuilding activities. Using experienced local craftsmen (if available) and building boats on the spot, they enable beneficiaries to check the process closely (as, for example, IRC in Calang), even more so if craftsmen and fishers are jointly responsible for the project, including for buying materials. Some examples can be found around Meulaboh, in Kuala Tadu under the guidance of PAPAN, and in Pucok Luang, with YPK, as well as on the east coast in Pidie district (TdH in Pase Lhok), in Bireuen district (Permata in Curee Tunong) and Lhokseumawe (Sahara). alike, as many are still waiting for the replacement of although they identified coastal resources up to 80 m the small fishing craft. They are alarmed and upset by deep, indicating a positive and quick post-tsunami newspaper articles claiming that with 4,000 fishing craft rehabilitation of coastal fish resources. A deep-sea already being replaced, no more small fishing craft stock assessment is still pending, with some indicating are needed. irst of all, not all these 4,000 fishing craft that the World Bank is in the process of preparing have been delivered as yet. Secondly, looking at the that assessment. The isheries Department, BRR, AO sheer numbers, these 4,000 new small fishing craft do and other parties are eagerly awaiting the results, as not add up to the loss of around 6,500 fishing craft the availability of deep-sea resources will ultimately up to 16 m long.36 decide whether deep-sea fleet enlargement is feasible. The arguments in favour of the larger-vessel policy look beyond the need of mere replacement of lost The second priority: fisheries infrastructure craft and bring in additional elements, especially the irst provide the fishing craft and only then the need for developing capture fisheries, in particular, the infrastructure–this is the most common approach ‘underdeveloped’ provincial deep-sea fishery. With followed in the reconstruction of capture fisheries in larger vessels, the local fishing community would be Aceh. As of writing this report, the first infrastructure able to tap the available offshore fish resources like projects have commenced, but most of them are still tuna. These—so runs the argument—offer export at the planning stage, with implementation only to start opportunities, would create more employment, and, in 2006-2007. Integrated infrastructure projects are at the same time, help to prevent overfishing of coastal relatively expensive, with estimated cost estimates waters. According to some experts, the fish resources ranging from US$100,000 for a small landing centre already show signs of depletion; others disagree. No to US$400.000 for rehabilitation of larger harbours. scientific studies are yet available to assess the post- Only the bigger aid agencies have the funds to finance tsunami marine resources. The Indonesian Research and hire the required expertise for this kind of Institute LIPI, in collaboration with the Norwegian infrastructure development. urthermore, most Institute of Marine Research, has just completed a study NGOs view these kinds of infrastructure projects as on the ecological impact of the tsunami in the coastal the responsibility of the government, as it concerns waters. Their research includes no real stock assessment, public facilities.

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ADB and AO have stepped forward as strategic Aquaculture infrastructure partners in rebuilding the severely damaged Interventions in the field of aquaculture are starting infrastructure, in collaboration with the isheries only now, the only exception being the cash-for-work Department. ADB’s current plans include support for programmes to clear the debris from thousands of the development of between 12 and 18 small-scale hectares of embankment area, which started within a landing centres through an integrated approach, that few month of the tsunami. However, far more needs is, designing landing sites, and icing, storage, refuelling to be done to turn the cleaned ponds into productive and post-harvest facilities. The ADB project has not ponds. The AO sums it all up in its booklet 15 Steps yet started due to bureaucratic delays in budget for Aquaculture arm Rehabilitation in Aceh, Indonesia.43 allocation and release.40 Rehabilitation turns out be a complex process for a Minor rehabilitation and reconstruction of combination of reasons. irst of all, one needs to fisheries infrastructure is already being implemented rebuild the infrastructure of a larger embankment area in order to kickstart the production process. Various before one can start rebuilding individual ponds. The INGOs have made a headstart, with clearing debris overall irrigation system of water canals and watergates through cash-for-work programmes. In some cases, needs to be repaired before separate dykes are rebuilt this has been followed up with the construction of and sludge removed. Secondly, rehabilitation is an market sheds or small mosques on the beach or close expensive affair, with a minimum cost of around to landing sites, which double up as meeting places. US$100.000 per village area, based on average cost Until now, some 130 fish markets have been of US$1,800 per hectare.44 Thirdly, it involves complex constructed, with a further 156 planned, according to ownership patterns, involving both private and public BRR data.41 Information regarding reconstruction of or common properties, further complicated by issues landing sites is less easily available, and we, therefore, of indebtness and owner-worker relations. ourth, the have to limit ourselves to a few places were we know social and economic importance of aquaculture cannot work has started, like in Ulee Lheue. Here, at the request cancel out its negative impact on the environment and of the panglima laot, the aid agency Islamic Relief is the fact that it caused the destruction of protective building a landing pier for the five purse-seine fishing mangrove forests. craft that survived the tsunami. Other sites will follow, The AO booklet is an obvious effort to address according to BRR, but it will take time to build all the abovementioned issues and to ensure the permanent facilities, as they have to comply with the reconstruction process will help overcome problems minimum standards, including providing for solid- that already existed before the tsunami, and result in waste management and ice facilities. improvements in technical, economic, social and To meet the immediate needs and ensure that environmental aspects. Still, many aid agencies are fishers do not have to wait until full-fledged landing keeping a distance and postponing their activities in sites have been completed, AO proposes to build the aquaculture sector. In addition, the organizations small so-called container ice plants. One 3-5 tpd that are involved in aquaculture interventions mostly capacity ice plant is being procured by AO, while the seem to do so in an unco-ordinated manner. government will provide a 1 tpd ice facility. Some aid Exact data on the extent of the rehabilitated agencies like IRC have also started focusing on embankments are not available. Some owners have supporting infrastructure now that they have rounded started reconstruction on their own, often with the off their boatbuilding activities.42 IRC is currently financial help of family members. Others got some discussing with local fishers in Calang what kind of support from aid agencies or the government to support they need to strengthen their economic rebuild the irrigation canals and to reconstruct the activities, be it an ice plant, fish-processing equipment, dykes. ew organizations took it upon themselves to or transport or working capital for fish vendors. ICR fully fund the rehabilitation of aquaculture for a whole plans to channel that support through local co- village, let alone address all the technical, social, operatives to encourage co-operation amongst local economic and environmental issues involved. In Sangso groups. in Pidie district, Terre des Hommes, The Netherlands

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Box 3: Good Initiatives: Striving for Transparent Co-operative Management

%rom co-operative to village-based resource management The wave of tsunami aid has brought a whole range of co-operative management concepts to Aceh, many still only on paper but a few have already been brought into practice, though it is too early to judge their feasibility and sustainability. %ishers co-operative: joint ownership The 40 fisher-strong Putra Pantai co-operative37 in Curee Tunong (Bireuen) is about to become the owner of a 20- m purse-seine vessel, which they will operate in shifts. At present, the fishers are all busy mending nets and keeping an eye on the boatbuilder’s work. In due time, they hope to acquire a second purse-seine boat using the income the co- operative will generate as ‘boatowner’ and from its credit fund. In Meulaboh, fishers will be establishing a far bigger co-operative that will manage 17 vessels with the help of a professional management team, which is also supposed to take care of the marketing of the fish. Village co-operative: profit sharing and revolving fund In Lambada, the first 50 owners of new boats (17 privately owned, 6 owned by two persons and one owned by a crew of 15) provide the basic income of the revived village co-operative, which has savings and credit as its main activity.38 The fishers contribute a share of the profit to the co-operative, money that will later be used as a revolving fund to buy more boats and set up a shop (warung logistik) to sell fisheries equipment. Micro-credit, with a transparent accountancy system, is seen as a key to reduce dependency on traders-cum-moneylenders. Community %inance Institute: a more flexible credit institution The crew of the new purse-seine boat in Lancang (Pidie) can now borrow its operating cost against a 5 per cent from the Community inance Institute (Lembaga Keuangan Masyarakat). That’s 5 per cent less than the trader-cum-moneylender would ask. The newly established institute works actually as a village co-operative, but is not bound by the strict co-operative rules and regulations. Instead, it can develop its own rules as and when required. ICD, a local NGO, has recently set up five such institutes in as many villages in the Kembang Tanjung district. The communities all received some boats, and will contribute part of their profits as start-up capital for the community finance institute. Community Economic Institute: community resource management The villagers of Lhok Bubon and Pucok Lueng in Meulaboh district have recently established their own village- based institutes called Lembaga Ekonomi Masyarakat or LEM. These institutes provide a single window for aid agencies intending to work in the area, thus ensuring community participation and control. The institutes aim to manage all economic activities as a ‘village enterprise’, with a co-operative management team39 of elected members and separate division heads, representing the various economic sectors active in the village (fisheries, agriculture, home industries, trade, etc). Micro-funding is a crucial activity as it generates money (through interest) and, at the same time, supports various economic activities, providing access to credit. The village organization’s micro-fund is also meant to provide ‘insurance-loans’ to pay hospital bills, and improve people’s welfare by investing in training, education and social activities. Some income is already generated through joint management of boats and boatbuilding (profit sharing), hand tractors and tools (rental), and sale of fuel. uture sources of income could include: management of fish-landing sites, ice plants, fish auctions and petrol pump management (earning income from percentage of sales or tender rights), group-owned fish ponds or farmland. The organization’s recently built village office serves as a meeting and information point. The proposed designs for new houses and a village-scale model are put on display here. The ultimate goal is village-based resource management.

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(TdH) ensured that the owner of the pond would can sell the processed fish to the merchants in Medan. share a larger part of the profit with the workers. AO is now considering providing working capital, Yasindo, partner of the environmental group Walhi, but, given its restricted funds, for the time being, it which is working in the neighbouring Jangka Buaya will retain its focus on providing physical inputs. AO subdistrict, paid more attention to the environmental has also plans to organize training to improve the quality issue by planting single rows of mangrove samplings of processing as well as bookkeeping. along the dykes to strengthen the embankment45. Walhi AO has so far rehabilitated 189 fish-processing itself wants to introduce silvofisheries as a way to units in four districts. In Pante Raja, it has mainly promote sustainable aquaculture. In all, on the ground, provided aid to the larger units, arguing that they one encounters a diverse mix of interventions. This provide more employment than the smaller ones. The might change once larger-scale intervention 45 beneficiaries who, on average, had a capacity of programmes start, like those of ADB. 200 to 500 drying racks have each received 100 drying racks from AO. Thus they are still operating well Post-harvest fishery-based livelihoods below their normal capacity. They used to employ Livelihood support is one of the most popular four to eight workers each, while smaller units employ intervention strategies as part of the post-tsunami aid. two to four persons, mainly women. It scores well with all parties involved, both Elsewhere, some fish-processing units received governmental and non-governmental, small and big only part of the equipment and were thus unable to organizations. Supporting fish processors, fish traders start working.48 and salt farmers is one of the obvious choices for the Support for fish traders consists mainly of rehabilitation of the affected coastal communities. replacement of transportation infrastructure, mostly Even so, during field visits, these groups still motorcycles, insulated ice boxes and pannier baskets, complained a lot about the absence of financial as well as working capital. While some organizations support or its limited scale. like AO specifically target fish traders in certain ish processing is restricted to certain coastal pockets, others like Oxfam provide working capital centres where a substantial number of vessels equipped to fish traders as part of a general economic recovery with anchovy nets are active to supply small anchovies package, which also targets food-stall owners and or ikan teri. Elsewhere, people will only occasionally craftsmen. Overall, the interventions targeting fish engage in fish processing, mostly when fishers traders lack co-ordination: some get help and others encounter difficulties in selling fresh fish, mostly due don’t, depending on the priorities set by the to an abundance of catch. In those cases, the fish is organizations working in the area, and not based on either salted or dried to keep it from going waste and the needs of the people or the requirements to revive to reduce the loss of income. Generally, only the a specific economic activity. processing of the small dried ikan teri is perceived as Salt workers are more specifically targeted, commercially viable. That is also underlined by the because, just like fish processors, they are heavily fact that the big fish traders and exporters in Medan concentrated in certain areas. In various locations along who are active in the ikan teri trade were among the the east coast, salt farmers have been provided with first to provide aid to their loyal suppliers so as to sheds and cooking equipment so they can start working keep the business going.46 In other places like Leupung, again49. the traders from Banda Aceh and Medan are the ones who own all or most of the vessels. Interventions specifically aimed at women and Interventions in fish processing mostly aim at other vulnerable groups replacement of lost infrastructure and equipment: a Women are the key to a new Aceh, underlines Mr shed for cooking and storage, stoves and pots, drying Kuntoro, the head of the BRR, stressing the ‘strategic racks and baskets.47 However, fish processing also value’ of women. However, fisheries are perceived as requires working capital, as processors double up as a sector dominated by men, and thus most traders, buying fresh fish from the fishers before they interventions target male fishworkers. While every single

46 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Indonesia Country Report organization active in the rehabilitation of fish The far more complex ground realities force processing will stress that women are among the main agencies to review and refine their strategies. AO, for beneficiaries, most of them shy away from exclusively example, decided to provide support to the largest targeting women in this sector, not wanting to deny units of fish processing, thus supporting the relatively men the same opportunity. richer entrepreneurs as they have the potential for On the ground, fisheries in Aceh are indeed men’s generating more employment for female workers, business.50 Women only participate in a few fishery- while the smaller fish-processing units are still waiting related activities, and none of these is an exclusive for aid. Many perceive this as unequal treatment and woman’s domain. While women form the major thus it forms a potential source of conflict51. BRR workforce in the fish-processing sector, and often are promotes a more ‘equal’ practical approach regarding the only source of income for female-headed aquaculture by trying to help rehabilitate as many households, the entrepreneurs are mainly men and shrimp farmers as possible (each—both poor and rich husband-and-wife teams. The same goes for salt —with one pond), while indirectly ensuring farmers, who mostly operate as a family business. employment for aquaculture labourers as well. Though women certainly benefit from the interventions in fish processing and fish marketing as Rehabilitation of fishing communities: land and well as salt farming, the large group of women do so shelter issues only indirectly, through the revival of employment All settlements along the 800 km of devastated opportunities. The working relations in the sector, as coastline in Aceh harbour larger or smaller fishing such, remain unchanged. Aid agencies neither target communities. In each and every of the 650 affected their support for family-related fisheries business to villages and towns, the fishing communities have been strengthen the position of women as equal partners. hard hit by the tsunami as they are the ones living closest However, in general, most agencies ensure that women to the sea. However, no separate data are available are included as beneficiaries of the livelihood for fishing communities, as they are not treated as a programmes, as recipients of working capital and tools specific statistical entity but seen as an integral part of to enable them also to earn an income, though mostly a mixed village community. While in many small coastal in sectors that fall in line with the ‘traditional’ female villages, the majority of the people depend on fisheries, activities like sewing clothes, baking and selling of cakes there will always be a few craftsmen, traders and and other food products. farmers as well. In bigger towns, the situation is Interventions are, in general, more focused on reversed, as in Banda Aceh, where the majority of the the rather broadly defined target group of ‘poor’ affected population works in the service sector. In all, people, which usually covers both the structurally poor it seems safe to assume that more than half of the and those whose poverty is directly related to the impact 540,000 people rendered homeless by the tsunami of the tsunami. With most assets in coastal areas belong to households depending, at least partially, on 52 destroyed by the tsunami, there is a high degree of fisheries for their livelihoods. impoverishment among formerly better-off and Number of fishing villages affected and middle-class families. In line with their pro-poor and infrastructure pro-equity approach, agencies generally opt to provide According to BRR data, approximately 650 villages the same basic assistance for all affected people. have been affected, of which more than half, that is, Although equal treatment is not always feasible, 340 villages, have suffered severe damages. The worst- especially in livelihood interventions, there is a clear hit are the villages on the west coast of Aceh, from tendency to treat all tsunami-affected subgroups equally: Meulaboh up to Lhok Nga and Banda Aceh, with all affected fishers tend to receive the same small boat, Calang town standing out as the worst-affected place, and all fish vendors the same amount of capital, with with just one single house left—and even that is no extra compensation for the ‘rich’ boatowners and damaged. On the northeast coast, most seashore traders. villages have also been swept away, but further south

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on the east coast, one finds more settlements that have fierce criticism from the affected communities, only partially been damaged. On Nias island, an especially from the fishing communities. With coastal estimated 80 coastal villages are affected, leaving more areas still being partly submerged and roads and than 40,000 people homeless. Given the damage, BRR bridges damaged, those barracks were planned to be estimates around 120,000 new homes are required, built far away from the village of origin — too far, some 80,000 to 110,000 in Aceh and 13,500 on Nias.53 according to the communities, who were afraid to be With around 80,000 ha of land now submerged or cut off from their source of income (sea and farmland) uninhabitable, around 30,000 land plots are no longer and the only asset they had left, their own piece of fit for habitation. Thus, a quarter of the homeless need land. In some cases, the government, therefore, opted new land for their homes. to locate barracks closer to the affected villages. In As with houses and villages, the damage to other cases, the villagers chose to return to their villages infrastructure is immense54: and build their own huts. The latter option has often been treated as the end of their ‘displacement’, thus • 3,000 km of roads were rendered impassable, meaning the end of the monthly supply of food among which were 600 km of arterial roads, rations and living allowance.55 To avoid being left out 650 km of city roads and 1,360 km of local in the cold, some families split up, with some members neighbourhood roads. continuing to live in the barracks in order to claim the • 120 arterial bridges and 1,500 minor bridges rations and others returning to the village to reclaim were destroyed. their land. • 8 out of 10 airports were damaged. • 14 out of 19 seaports were badly damaged. Right to return Initially, the government proposed to have a 2-km • 2,700 school buildings were damaged, of coastal safety zone, where no construction would be which 366 need to be replaced. allowed. This plan was successfully opposed by the • 122 healthcare centres were damaged or communities living within the 2-km zone, who destroyed. demanded the right to return to their land.56 However, • More than 500 religious facilities (mosques, it took the government a few months to take a decision, prayer halls and Islamic schools and boarding which caused considerable delay in the housing schools) were severely damaged. projects, as UN agencies and many other international donors did not want to build houses without formal Reconstruction progress and relocation government permission. This is highlighted by the fact Shelter and housing have been named the first priority that the houses constructed so far have been built by in the reconstruction effort, but so far, progress has comparatively smaller agencies, mostly those with a been slow. By the end of 2005, BRR hopes a quarter project size of under 1,000 houses. of the required 120,000 new houses will be ready. At Officially, now all internally displaced persons present 16,500 houses have already been built, with (IDPs) are entitled to return to their place of former another 13,000 under construction. BRR plans to residence, if they so choose.57 However, relocation speed up the process next year, targeting to build remains an issue, as around 80,000 ha of land are now 78,000 houses before the end of 2006. By March 2007, submerged or uninhabitable. This means that all the required 120,000 new houses should be ready. thousands of households have to be relocated. In some At present, a large part of the more than 500,000 villages, were only a few households had to relocate, homeless have found temporary accommodation with they have themselves made arrangements, using village family and friends or have built their own huts. Close land or swapping plots. Elsewhere the (sub) district to 70,000 people still live in tents, while another 75,000 government has bought land for those who have lost stay in ‘organized’ barracks that are provided by their land to the sea.58 Most aid agencies keep their government and aid agencies. The initial plan to relocate distance and do not want to get involved in land sales, all displaced people to barracks was abandoned after foremost because of the disputes surrounding land

48 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Indonesia Country Report ownership and land titles, but also because they fear it and implementation. The UNDP set up a Small Grant will lead to inflated prices.59 Programme to support local NGOs with the mapping In some cases, the local government has claimed and planning exercise, while INGOs like TdH and former private coastal land for public use. Both in Hivos enlisted an experienced Indonesian support Calang and Meulaboh, local authorities have developed NGO to assist local organizations in the field.62 plans to use some land for coastal development, that Other examples can be found in the box on best is, for a harbour and a tsunami monument in practices. Meulaboh, and for the relocation of the complete In a significant number of other villages, the town of Calang, which was totally destroyed by the housing reconstruction process is far less participatory. tsunami. In Meulaboh, this claim has been disputed Some organizations do the job themselves, with the by the private owners, as the government remains help of a contractor and just hand over the keys to unclear about the place and arrangements for the new house, while others only consult a selected relocation. group of key figures.63 Delays in the construction process are also caused Building model houses has become standard by problems surrounding land ownership, as practice for many agencies in order to ensure that basic documents have been destroyed, both those privately safety and quality standards are in place while giving kept as well as those of the government land the community a voice in the design. In practice, it registration agency (BPN). In small communities with often means the community’s choice is restricted to a large group of survivors, public memory can still two or three models, which many feel obliged to be tapped to re-establish borders and ownerships accept because it is a gift and they feel they would rights. The government accepts ownership letters anyway lose any arguments with the ‘experts’ on acknowledged by the community, and BPN will technical aspects of safety. provide them with new land certificates.60 In some places, there have been complaints that the process In the first months, several agencies designed and takes a lot of time, with officials claiming payment, promoted earthquake-resistant houses, putting up although the service should be free.61 The big posters to inform the broader public of the essential problems, however, arise in the devastated suburbs safety measures, like the required diameter of iron rods of Banda Aceh that were densely populated. Here and the depth of the foundation. Wooden houses on only a fraction of the inhabitants survived. It is, stilts belonged to the favoured designs promoted by therefore, far more difficult to establish ownership international agencies, as they were seen to provide rights, especially since most of the landmarks have some safety against a future tsunami and, at the same disappeared. It is in these areas that least progress has time, reduce risks of injury, as wood is a relatively been made. light material. However, due to the issue of illegal logging, this type of design has been silently dropped. Most agencies have severely cut down on use of timber Participation, minimum standards and scientific for housing, replacing it mostly with bricks. This design norms is preferred by the communities, as they perceive a BRR dictates a community-driven approach, to ensure brick structure as being more ‘permanent’ (read: community participation. Until September, some 20 durable) than a wooden structure, certainly with the international and local NGOs had initiated work on present decreasing quality of timber. 64 land mapping in 94 villages. Mapping was followed by village-level spatial planning, including site planning The official BRR guidelines for shelter establish and detailed engineering designs for public minimum standards and do not address all the safety infrastructure like roads, drainage, clean water and issues and scientific norms. Even so, some of sewage networks. This is how it should be done: having these minimum requirements are not being group discussions and setting up a village steering observed in various housing projects. The wide committee that acts as a partner for discussion, for variety in quality, style and type of housing data collection and verification discussion, for design highlights the problem. The minimum prescribed

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standard size of houses is set at 36 sq m, but Providing shelter is more than just building a house, various agencies ignore the regulation, some building underlined BRR head Kuntoro, while highlighting the houses as small as 27 sq m, while the most shortcomings in water and sanitation. These spacious ones count at 70 sq m.65 The lucky ones shortcomings are due to the lack of clear guidelines, get a kitchen block and a tiled floor; the unlucky ones co-ordination, monitoring and control. Some NGOs have to live with triplex walls. People often lack just focus on a quick solution66, while elsewhere, various information on the minimum standards, although organizations are active and the reconstruction process UN Habitat claims to have distributed 100,000 is divided sectorwise (shelter, water and sanitation, leaflets via BRR. schools) without much collaboration.

Box 4: Best Practices: Participatory Approach

Being there In overwhelming sad and chaotic times, the few returning displaced villagers of Lam Ujung, near Darussalam, were happy just to have somebody around to consult, helping them sort out what they wanted, where to get it, whom to approach. A student activist of People’s Crisis Centre (PCC) regularly stayed with them in the destroyed village, guiding them on how to cope with all these aid organizations and get the support needed for the others to return to the village. Although PCC also provided food aid, it was the moral support that made the difference.

Village mapping and planning Reconstructing the old village on paper together with the survivors is the first step towards the construction of a new village. It usually takes three to five days for the public exercise, but preparations start much earlier with compilation of village data. The actual map helps to verify the data (Who had a boat? Who owned this fishpond? How big was this plot of land?) and it is there for all to see. A second map helps to visualize the new village layout, and indicates who wants or needs to relocate, and how it will be arranged. The next step is the actual marking of the separate building plots. A core group of villagers represents the community to work with the NGO housing team on the housing design and construction process.

One Step %urther: Resource Mapping YPK uses the village mapping exercise not only to map houses and infrastructure, but also to assess the natural resources for present and future economic activities. The exercise creates awareness about potential resources within the framework of sustainable livelihoods, thus building a base for community-based resource management.

Going the whole way: from emergency aid to a network of eco-villages “Udeep Beusaree”, “Living Together”, is the motto of the 23 Meuraxa communities that are supported by Uplink. By providing food support, Uplink stimulated people to return to their villages, set up community kitchens and build their own barracks. ocusing on one area, Uplink gradually created a network of 23 villages. With the help of architects and planners from Jakarta, the villagers started mapping the sites for their new homes, looking for alternative solutions to address the safety issue (artificial hills, escape roads). They played a crucial role in the reversal of the planned safety buffer, gaining the support of the minister for the environment for a pilot project of eco-villages. Now that they have started reconstructing their villages, the rich neighbours are also returning to rebuild their houses, with their own money.

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Key Issues money, but also to generate future employment opportunities. The quality of aid: How to ensure that people get helped well The quantity issue also colours the discussion on infrastructure. The government officials’ tendency to The quality of fishing craft is sometimes dangerously go for big infrastructure projects is sometimes more poor due to various reasons: use of bad-quality motivated by opportunities to generate some money materials, lack of craftsmanship and technical know- for themselves than fine-tuned to local needs. People how, and designs that are not suited for local conditions. are often better off with 10 small ice plants than one Less life-threatening is an incomplete boat, but with big plant. just a boat and neither gear nor engine fishers are still unable to go back to the sea and earn their own living. The question of co-ordination These quality problems have been highlighted by With so many organizations operating in Aceh and so various organizations, including AO, panglima laot and much donor money around, co-ordination is severely BRR. More community involvement certainly helps hampered. BRR is established to do the job, but it is reduce the problem, just as better training and not yet in full control, despite its being backed up by a extension work will improve the quality of aid by steering committee of the major parties involved (ADB, extending the life of a boat. But how to ensure AO, panglima laot and INGOs). Other mechanisms minimum quality standards with so many players in are needed to improve co-ordination of aid in the the field? And who takes responsibility for past field, which also can serve as an ‘early warning system’ mistakes? What about the people who got a leaking to detect and mend problems related to the quantity boat or no nets? Or a leaking house, for that matter. and quality of aid. Community-driven aid sounds In housing, one also encounters a wide variety in quality, good on paper, but, in practice, it is not easy, less so size and style of shelter, despite minimum standards. for the communities themselves, who are More information on minimum standards and rights overwhelmed by the sheer number of organizations can empower local communities, but without a clear offering piecemeal assistance. Their ‘partners in complaint mechanism, their criticism often remains development’ - the local NGOs - are often co-opted unheard. as service providers for INGOs. The long-term armed conflict in Aceh has had a devastating impact The quantity of aid: Danger of oversupply and on the capacity of local organizations, as it has depletion of resources hampered their freedom of movement, membership, Small fishing craft turn out to be an attractive ‘quick contact with communities, networks, and capacity fix’ for many aid organizations: they provide highly development. Many local leaders have been silenced, visible aid, which is easy to provide and relatively cheap. and many promising activists have left. The panglima The small fishing craft not only help fishers but also laot survived and is now being treated like a “prima the aid organizations that are under pressure to digest donna”, as one activist puts it. But it might die an early unprecedented large amounts of donations in a short death due to an overload of responsibilities and aid time. With around 4,000 fishing craft delivered and money. more under construction, experts fear an oversupply After the initial frustration of endless co- of small fishing craft, which, in turn, can deplete ordination meetings and the pressure to start ‘doing available resources in the coastal areas and thus something’, it may now be time again to have a second endanger a sustainable development of the fishery look at the co-ordination issue and the role and sector. Shifting focus to larger fishing craft, especially limitations of the various parties involved. those equipped for deep-sea fishing and multiple-day trips, is being promoted as an alternative. However, Who comes first? Potential social conflicts the scientific justification for this strategy, by way of With the huge demand for aid, not everybody can be resource assessment, is still lacking. In the meantime, served at the same time. Most people accept this as aid agencies have started showing interest in larger boat their fate, at least to a certain extent. Although people projects, under pressure from donors to spend more may envy other villages for being helped faster or

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receiving better-quality housing or fishing craft, the programmes, especially in the initial relief phase when most potential source of conflict is when the immediate clearing debris was a priority. Now, an often-heard neighbouring household receives additional benefits. complaint, is that people want cash for everything. Even Checking and rechecking of information is essential the local term for community work, gotong royong, has to prevent aid going to the wrong group or individuals. become a synonym for paid work. Although this might Community involvement is a must, but does not be temporary, given the emergency situation, attention necessarily offer a solution for everything. Influential needs to be paid to traditional ways of community people may take advantage of benefits, forcing others service and social responsibilities. In village planning, to consent. When everybody has lost everything, it is the relocation issue can be addressed as a community difficult to judge who is more entitled to aid than issue, looking at communal land for a solution or others: the widow with two small kids, or the intact starting a common lobby for those who have become family with six kids? The big, well-connected trader landless. One should be cautious not to pay for all who can employ 10 people or the small trader who social services, and avoid reducing local institutions employs just two, but is fully dependent on aid? While like the panglima laot into mere service providers. people in the beginning were happy with whatever aid they received, they have now become more critical, The co-operative allergy: looking for suitable as established pre-tsunami hierarchies re-emerge. alternatives The jokes about the local acronym for a cooperative, Local logging: illegal or justified? KUD, highlight the malfunctioning of the local co- Illegal logging has been rampant in Aceh, protected operatives. In the past, they were used as milk cows by practices of corruption and the established interest by government officials and their cronies at the expense of so-called oknums (individuals) within the police of the local communities. But the concept of co- force, army and the bureaucracy. Environmentalists operative management still appeals to many, and the are now gaining ground in their effort to put an end need for a local source of easily accessible finance is to illegal or semi-legal logging, supported by the still huge. urthermore, with all the aid coming in, co- presence of international agencies. While a logging operative management can contribute to overcoming moratorium put an official end to local logging problems of ‘unequal’ individual ownership, and help permits, illegal logging practices continue, although in strengthen local institutions. While some make use of a more limited way. With all the reconstruction going the existing legal framework of co-operatives, others on, local villagers often feel justified to cut down ‘some’ are looking for alternatives that are less prone to trees for local use, for boatbuilding and for housing. government interference and offer more flexibility to Some aid workers silently condone this, arguing that it respond to local needs. Some started experimenting is pointless to pay a triple price for imported legal with new approaches, like village-based resource timber, which could anyway also originate from the management. A more comprehensive effort to neighbouring village, thanks to the existing paperwork compare the institutional alternatives and analyze their fraud. Allowing timber to be imported without import scope and feasibility is still lacking. duties does not solve the problem, but only makes local people more vulnerable. Striving for utopia? Cutting out the middlemen The issue of logging highlights the tense relation The silver lining to the tsunami destruction is that it between the needs of reconstruction and also offers an opportunity to rebuild Aceh in a better environmental preservation. While rehabilitation offers way. However, the urge to start reconstruction work a change to address long-neglected environment issues, at the earliest often leaves insufficient time for good the urge to get back to normal life promotes a more strategic planning. urthermore, established social short-term practical approach. patterns cannot be changed overnight. All strive to strengthen the position of fishers, making them less Cashing in on social responsibilities dependent on local traders and moneylenders. Cutting Generating income opportunities in the reconstruction out the middlemen sounds like a good solution, but it process resulted in various cash-for-work may take a long time to achieve this, and it needs the

52 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Indonesia Country Report long-term involvement of support organizations. and marketing going again. Next year, much more Many organizations are still too preoccupied with the project money will be available for fisheries, especially present needs to look at the future and work on bilateral and multilateral funds channelled through medium-term and long-term policies and plans. government departments, the ADB project being a prime example. It will be crucial to get the rehabilitation Conclusions and Recommendations process focused though a consolidated effort of all stakeholders, with specific reference to the following A fine balance: quick, good and participatory issues: Given the scale of the damage, the rehabilitation of the tsunami-affected fishing communities and their illing the gaps fisheries-based livelihoods is a huge task in itself. As the dust of the aid whirlwind is settling, those inding the right balance between speed, quality and organizations and institutions with a longer-term community involvement has proven to be even more involvement need to assess and address the difficult. Several problems have already been shortcomings in aid, not only helping those who have highlighted; all are interrelated with the following issues: been left out, but also providing engines for the fishers who have only received fishing craft, and also adding • Co-ordination and control: The wide variety in gear for all seasons. It would help if stakeholders got quality, kind, size and strategy of interventions together to draft an assessment list, and get comparable highlights the problem. Minimum standards parameters, leading to a detailed overview of gaps. and scientific norms are ignored and adjusted at will to the agenda and regulations of the Linking local initiatives and regional agencies and institutions involved, with the infrastructure projects beneficiaries at the receiving end. The groundwork done and the fundamentals laid by • Competition: Hundreds of aid organizations are local groups and organizations often form a good active in rehabilitation and reconstruction. basis to develop further plans, by providing Many have a lot of money to spend, and opportunities for accessing regional infrastructure started claiming certain areas, putting up projects. It means linking NGO initiatives to signboards and banners and signing MoUs government funding, to prevent some very promising with local governments. Some authorities have and inspiring initiatives from getting stuck halfway, taken advantage of the situation, auctioning but instead helping them become models for the aid projects to the highest bidder with the development of the fisheries sector. fanciest designs. Local organizations depending on donor money are enlisted as Bridging short-and long-term investment plans service providers. Between the quick start and the completion of a full- fledged landing pier there is a time-consuming • Complaints: BRR is claiming the role of referee, planning, design and construction process, which handing out red cards to organizations and should be bridged with projects focusing on the local governments that do not abide by the medium term. An integrated planning session with all rules. However, a complaint mechanism is still the stakeholders involved is needed to develop a step- missing, with local communities often not by-step approach for the development of fisheries knowing whom to address and where to go infrastructure in line with existing capacities and to register their protest and criticism. opportunities. Detailed plans are needed to develop a Challenging times ahead few larger fishing craft into a deep-sea fishing fleet Until now, the post-tsunami interventions in fisheries and an export industry. have focused on the quick revival of fisheries activities, Analyzing interventions on co-operative mainly through replacement of lost craft and gear, management but also by providing tools, minor infrastructure and Aid opens the door to co-operative management, capital to get supporting sectors like fish processing promoting it as a model for channelling larger vessels,

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 53 Indonesia Country Report revolving funds and micro-credit, and public provincial document refers to a 16,070 fishing fleet. The gap infrastructure. Given the distrust against co-operatives, between the 16,500 figure and the 23,000 estimate used by AO several initiatives are being developed to ensure a more (based on assessment with MMA) is at least partly due to registration problems, as many fishing craft are not properly transparent and effective way of co-operative registered. However, this inaccuracy in baseline data has no direct management at the local level. The effectiveness and impact on the damage assessment, as the data collected by different impact of the various models and strategies, including agencies regarding damaged fishing craft vary only slightly (see their legal implications, need to be analysed, and should Annex 4 for detailed overview). lead to more in-depth discussion on the issue of co- 3 The law banning trawling activities has some flaws, notes Pieter operative management. lewwelling of AO. The adjustment of the technical definition of trawler gear makes it possible to legally operate trawlers with Strengthening local institutions small changes to the gear. Panglima laot is one of the few traditional local 4 Various figures are mentioned by the isheries Department and institutions that survived the pressures of time and AO assessment studies, varying in size of plots (AO refers to conflict. As a prime stakeholder in fisheries, it deserves 46.000 ha and KKP, 36.000 ha) and total fishery value (AO mentions Rp 1.59 trillion and DKP, Rp 1.40 trillion), but a central role in the rehabilitation process. However, nonetheless they stress the importance of the aquaculture sector, some fear with that, with all the money involved, the constituting around 30 per cent of the total fishery value. rehabilitation activities could undermine its traditional 5 Traditionally, each local territory in Aceh was ruled by a group role as a mediator of disputes. Major partners in of local leaders familiar with the traditions. While the panglima fisheries should develop a common strategy, together laot looks after the sea, there are others who hold authority over with both the local and provincial panglima laots, to the rice fields and irrigation canals (kecyuen blang), the forest area define their roles and responsibilities. Attention needs (panglima uteun), market and trade (haria peukan), the harbour (syah banda) and, if applicable, even gold mining (keujruen meuh) also be paid to capacity building and specific training, The government administration has partly replaced the traditional not only for the panglima laot but also for other institutions, which were further weakened by the armed conflict community-based organizations, like the new financial and consequent military operations. management institutes. 6 or example, it provides legal support to Acehnese fishers who are caught in the territorial waters of neighbouring India, Malaysia Looking beyond replacement to sustainable and Myanmar. improvements 7 State losses due to illegal fishing are estimated at US$2 bn The traditional small-scale fisheries sector offers ample annually and mostly blamed on foreign boat crews. As of 2007, opportunities for improvement. Modernization of the Indonesia will stop allowing foreign fishing vessels to operate in fleet, infrastructure and marketing appears an obvious Indonesian territorial waters, with the exception of foreign vessels choice, but it needs to be sustainable as well and based working together with local fishing companies. on an assessment of the available natural resource base. 8 Local leaders, therefore, become reluctant to interfere, afraid Improvement in quality and life of fishing craft offers to get branded as well, just like local activists and organizations. eared and actual restrictions severely undermine the role of a start, just as registration of vessels would serve as a civil society. basis for registration of fish catch. Better fish- 9 In Calang, for example, a privately owned ice factory was forced processing tools and access to credit can also help to close down in 2001. Thus the fishing sector there had to strengthen the position of local traders in the export depend on supplies from Meulaboh or Banda Aceh, which not industry. only increased the price of ice but also led to regular shortages of ice or even lack of supply for several days. In the same period, continuous extortion forced one major businessman to sell two Endnotes of his three bigger fishing craft. 1 At present the exchange rate for US$1 is approximately 10 As stressed by the head of the provincial fisheries department. Rp10,000 The navy also increased its presence to guard territorial waters 2 Data related to the situation in 17 affected districts of Aceh against GAM rebels. Some claim a post-tsunami increase in illegal province. There are various data on the pre-tsunami number of fishing by foreign vessels due to the severe loss of Aceh-based fishing craft. The 2003 statistics of the Ministry of Marine and fishing craft in the tsunami. Others, however, stress that these isheries Affairs (MMA) give a total of 16,431 fishing craft, illegal fishing activities are seasonal and linked to the migration consisting of 6,258 without engines, 3,885 with outboard of fish in the so-called ‘east season’, which attracts foreign fishers engines, and 6,270 with inboard engines, while another MMA to the Indonesian territorial waters.

54 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Indonesia Country Report

11 See Oxfam Briefing Notes: Tsunami Impacts on Women, March local organizations like the panglima laot, the mosque and youth 2005. Accessed 5 Dec 2005: http://www.oxfam.org.uk/ groups. Some view the upgrading of those facilities by the what_we_do/issues/conflict_disasters/downloads/ district fisheries authorities as a means to secure an income for bn_tsunami_women.pdf. the officials themselves, while depriving the community of a source of income. 12 igures quoted from BRR December report. An earlier estimate of the DKP put the value of fisheries assets at US$290 mn (Rp 21 The MMA statistics state different data, that is, a total 2.9 trillion), of which US$120 mn were damaged or lost by the embankment area of 36,500 ha, of which 14,500 ha were tsunami, with an additional loss of business income (harvest damaged, which also results in 40 per cent damage. AO ponds and capture fish) of US$280 mn. Damage to fish processing consultants indicate that the official figures might be is not mentioned, and damage to ecosystem, explicitly excluded. underestimated, as officials at the district level quote larger embankment areas. 13 It seems a higher percentage of the larger vessels were spared, compared to the smaller fishing craft because many of them 22 Data according to BRR registration. Ran database counts 414 were still out at sea when the tsunami struck, but not all of local and international organizations active in Aceh and Nias. those at sea were spared. Some of the damaged larger vessels 23 The new agency should not only consist of government officials, have been quickly repaired as they are owned by businesspeople but should also include representatives of civil society and from outside, but the ‘poorer’ local owners cannot fall back on disaster experts. The new law should fill the gaps in existing aid, due to their employer status, and they need more time to get regulations, but foremost, generate an effective co-ordination the funds, while repairs usually also take a few months.. body, as Indonesia is a country prone to disasters, both natural 14 The damage in Nias was caused by both the tsunami as well as and man-made. the major earthquake that hit the island three months afterwards, 24 At present, the provincial isheries Department is more or less on 28 March 2005. Although that earthquake did not trigger a ignored by the district isheries Departments, as they now tsunami, waves did rise to a height of more than 2 m, causing financially depend on their district government. The provincial extensive damage to fishing craft lying on the shore. department, which is the nodal agency for various projects, hardly 15 The data seem quite accurate, despite a slight variation depending has access to data on the situation in the districts, while it is also on definition, source and time of assessment. The DKP notes a being ignored by INGOs. total of 9,559 fishing craft as lost (OB: 2,369; IB: 3,969; Non: 25 The provincial isheries Department hopes that the Special 3,225), but does not talk about damaged craft, while the AO Autonomy Law opens the door to direct fish exports (for instance, figure for the west coast is slightly higher (by 240) in an April shrimps to Italy), with the possibility of Banda Aceh gaining the mission report. status of an international airport and Krueng Raya, an 16 The number of lost craft on the west coast is slightly higher international port, thus being able to profit from the international than stated in the previous table, for which no explanation is contacts established in the aftermath of the tsunami. given, although both tables are taken from the same AO 26 A third grant agreement was also signed on 15 December 2005 Consultant Mission Report by Akmal Syukri, March 2005. regarding a US$2 mn grant to develop prototypes of earthquake- According to the BRR fisheries staff, the first assessment of resistant housing, including building 300 such units in 16 affected 10,000 fishing craft lost and damaged was later revised to around areas. 15,000 fishing craft, with the additional 5,000 damaged fishing 27 AO is entering a strategic partnership with IRC to build craft found in districts that earlier had been thought to be free of damage. In the meantime, most of the damaged fishing craft larger vessels to develop the deep-sea fisheries. In earlier stages, have been repaired, according to BRR. it secured financial support from several donors to train boatbuilders and publish guidelines on boatbuilding and 17 The secretary of the panglima laot attributes the high cost of rehabilitation of aquaculture. gear to the relatively large size of nets being used in Aceh. 28 The tsunami aid wave resulted in a significant increase in local 18 When adding up the various types of damaged inboard engines, organizations. Meulaboh, which earlier counted only three NGOs, the total number, that is, 4,949, exceeds the total number of now has nearly 20 organizations. lost and damaged fishing craft with inboard engines, that is, 29 It remains unclear how, all of a sudden, the number of lost 4,081. fishing craft has been reduced from at least 7,000 to less than 19 The secretary of the panglima laot claims that the popularity of 5,000 fishing craft. Even the BRR experts on fisheries cannot the Dompeng engine was pushed by government schemes, with explain where the figure comes from. Although the report refers officials looking for ways to ‘save’ money, buying cheap engines to the AO and panglima laot as a source, the parties themselves that could easily be marked-up in the budget. Pre-tsunami, the use the earlier mentioned loss assessment figure of 6,000-6,500 Dompeng engine cost half the price of the Japanese Yanmar fishing craft. engine, which is considered to be the best in this category. 30 The four districts are Banda Aceh, Aceh Besar, Aceh Jaya and 20 According to the provincial department data, there are 253 Pidie. Information based on panglima laot assessment, but locally run landing sites. They serve as a source of income for the percentage of losses based on disputed total loss of less than community, as a percentage of the auctioned harvest goes to 5,000 fishing craft, published in BRR year report.

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 55 Indonesia Country Report

31 There is a great, although often just slight, variation in size of 38 The local fishers community is supported by the Banda Aceh- fishing craft and boat design. AO has made a detailed list by based NGO, Pugar, which also helped to secure funds for several subdistrict of all the different boat sizes, combined with gear fishing craft. Similar initiatives can be found in other places, like and propulsion use of gear. However, the list is not complete Jeumurang in Pidie (TdH/SHMI). and lacks an overview. A detailed assessment of the combination 39 Staff payment remains a source of dispute, with one of craft, gear and propulsion aid and their coherence is not management team preferring regular salaries, while the other available. would prefer sector heads generating their own incomes through, 32 The boat quality problem could have been addressed earlier. for example, profit-sharing such as having the head of the fisheries AO admitted it had problems funding the mission. The success enterprise manage the fuel pump at the landing site. of the intervention depends on long-erm guidance and support. 40 The ADB fisheries project comprises six subcomponents, or example, although everybody acknowledges that galvanised namely: (i) community empowerment; (ii) rehabilitation of small- nails enhance the life of a boat, few will use them because the scale capture fisheries; (iii) rehabilitation of aquaculture and nails need to be ordered from Medan, preferably in bulk, and mariculture facilities and production systems; (iv) rehabilitation they are far more expensive. of small-scale fish-landing and post-harvest facilities; (v) coastal 33 Peter lewwelling, the chief technical officer of AO in resource rehabilitation; and (vi) support services restoration and Aceh,quoted a replacement target of 6,000 fishing craft, based provision. The project will take three years, with a budget of on a 7,000 fishing craft lost minus 15 per cent, figures which US$30 mn. were also quoted by BRR and the head of the isheries 41 BRR presentation, Mr. Kuntoro, Jakarta, 28 November 2005 Department in Aceh, although the latter put a more flexible target of up to 6,500. Earlier assessments mention around 10,000 42 IRC has built and repaired a total of 340 fishing craft in Calang fishing craft lost and damaged, and the revised figure only seems in collaboration with the panglima laot. In the follow-up phase, to account for the lost fishing craft. IRC plans to provide phase-wise budget support to local co- operatives up to Euro40,000. 34 BRR fisheries staff underlined that except for the around 4,000 small fishing craft which are built or in the process of 43 The booklet is a joint project of AO, Aceh’s Aquaculture being built, various agencies have expressed strong interest in Training Centre of the isheries Department and the Australian adding a few thousand more (Social Welfare Department: 2,000; government. The booklet was published in October, an indication AO: 2,400; BRR: 2,000, now reduced to less than 1,000). that interventions in aquaculture started late. urthermore, very These expressed intentions motivated BRR and its major partners few local NGOs were aware of the existence of the AO to put a brake on small boat building and stimulate aid agencies booklets, including the one on boatbuilding. AO printed 300 to build larger vessels, as BRR itself, and ADB as well, are now copies and has now started a distribution campaign, handing out also going to do. soft copies.

35 The Belgium Red Cross will supply 17 purse-seine fishing craft 44 The quoted figures are taken from a project proposal of YBK (labi-labi) of 17 m to the Meulaboh fisher community, which for TdH Netherlands in March 2005, for the rehabilitation of will be jointly managed by a co-operative. The latter is expected 67 ha shrimp ponds in Sangso, Samalanga district, based on a to have a membership of 300 fishers, consisting mainly of pawangs ‘one ha-pond per owner’ approach, including working capital to and crew members (17 persons/boat). The plan to use an existing buy seedlings and feed. co-operative has been dropped as the old members are all 45 Others claim that planting mangroves on the embankment boatowners who wanted to be part of the new co-operative. leads to seepages and may, therefore, not be acceptable to fishpond The first five vessels, at present under construction in Lampulo, farmers. are expected to be delivered by the end of December. The Belgium Red Cross plans to supply another 8 langar fishing craft 46 Pak Uji, the owner of ‘Nusa Indah’ in Medan, was one of the of 23-25 m to other regions like Sabang and Pidie. The projects first people to provide food aid to his suppliers in Pante Raja, on cost, respectively, Euro1 mn and Euro800.000. the third day after the tsunami. He also provided them with working capital (average Euro200) and mobile phones, which 36 Looking at the AO loss assessment figures, it turns out that they have to pay back in instalments with each delivery of ikan only 100 of the 7,853 lost fishing craft fall under the category of teri. large fishing craft, i.e. >16 m. Even if the 12-16 m ‘C’ size is taken into account, the amount of small fishing craft lost is 47 Local consumers prefer uncooked dried fish, but for the export around 6,000, of which 5,000 would need to be replaced market, only boiled dried fish will do. ish processors in Panta (according to the AO formula of a 10-15 per cent reduction Raja produce both. for loss of lives). 48 In Jeumerang in Pidie district, the fish processors receive JICA 37 The co-operative was established last year just before the support through ICD, a local NGO. When visited, the sheds and tsunami by the local farmers’ organization, Permata. The co- stoves were already in place, but of no use as yet since the operative in Meulaboh, which is supported by the Belgium Red processors did not have any cooking pans or drying racks to Cross, will be newly established to avoid the debt burden of the process the fish. They complained that the local fishing craft old boatowners’ co-operative. were forced to sell their catches in neighbouring Pante Raja.

56 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Indonesia Country Report

According to ICD, the delay was because the cooking equipment land took a long time. In this case, it was not just the price but had to be ordered from Medan. also the fear factor that caused problems. In nearby Seunnodon, 49 UNDP has rehabilitated 50 ha of salt pans in Pidie district, the subdistrict government had already bought land to relocate with the help of the cash-for-work programme, involving around half of the villagers of Bantayan. In Lamreh, near Banda Aceh, 2,000 people, according to its own press release. While travelling government land (Bukit Soeharto) has been allocated for those in Pidie district, I noticed several clusters of new salt-cooking who lost their land, including those who where living on sheds. somebody else’s land. 50 The local NGO Paska in Pidie has introduced a rule that the 59 JRS has helped the surviving villagers of Lamsenia in Leupung male beneficiaries of their boat programme have to pay a weekly subdistrict near Lhok Nga to buy land at the foot of the hill, contribution (Rp 5,000) to the widows in the village. In this where UN Habitat and Oxfam will build the houses. way, widows receive some working capital to invest in their 60 BRR has issued guidelines for a participatory approach to restore pandan mat-weaving home industry. property rights, requiring communities to map their village, and 51 Part of the problem is that they formed three groups of decide on inheritance rights per plot, which are then processed processing units, one of exclusively male entrepreneurs. One by BPN, making detailed maps and handout documents. BPN women’s group was selected as the beneficiary for the AO received funds for a land registration project, with Japan project, the others would be helped by the isheries Department supporting efforts to restore cadastral documents that were (according to AO), but that help has not materialised. In the damaged by flood water and mud. meantime, the original composition of the group has changed, 61 The Asia oundation lists several complaints in its Aceh excluding smaller entrepreneurs and adding bigger ones. Heated Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Appraisal (ARRA), including protests occurred and the panglima laot–himself a processing document replacement mechanism inappropriate to actual post- entrepreneur–had to intervene, more or less covering up the disaster conditions, lack of proper facilities and complex whole affair. requirements. 52 According to MMA statistics, there are around 87,000 full- time and part-time fishers in the affected areas, which multiplied 62 YPK from Meulaboh was one of the NGOs supported by the by four (household members) adds up to more than 300,000 GESSGP fund set up by UNDP, resulting in the establishment people. of LEMs, Community Economic Institutes. LPTP from Solo is assisting local partners of TdH and Hivos in several villages in 53 All BRR data taken from Tsunami Recovery Status Report, 14 Pidie, Bireuen and North Aceh districts. December 2005. While BRR reports 650 affected villages, Oxfam and others still use a ‘rounded-up’ figure of 1,000 affected villages 63 The villagers of Janguet, near Lamno, claim they have merely and towns, as quoted in Oxfam’s Briefing Note on shelter, also received the keys from the Turkish organization that rebuilt dated 14 December 2005, from an early damage assessment. their houses, although they were obviously consulted about the 54 BRR, Tsunami Recovery Status Report, December 2005 land ownership. Now they don’t know whom to complain to about the leakages (they just wrap the outer walls in plastic) and 55 The WP is in charge of the monthly food supplies, which, about the houses that are yet to be built. Beneficiaries of IOM’s according to the standards, consists of 12 kg rice per person, temporary shelter just needed to sign for the key receipt and plus a certain amount of cooking oil, instant noodles and canned have no clue about their permanent houses: “Just ask the village fish. Other agencies have been explicitly asked to stop providing head” is a response one hears very often. “Small people”, as they food supplies after six months. The living allowance of Rp 90,000 call themselves, leave the talking to the “big” people and don’t (US$9) per month per person is the responsibility of the dare to ask questions. provincial government. It is not as well organized as the food supplies. The allowances are not regularly handed out, and people 64 Complaints about the quality of timber are heard all over sometimes are just passed over without any clarification. There Aceh, mostly due to the drying process and the hardness of the are no clear rules whether returned villagers are entitled to food type of wood. The involvement of security personnel in timber rations and a living allowance: some get it and others don’t, mills, transport and delivery forces aid workers and communities while some get just one or the other, but not all. Most local aid to ‘accept’ the lesser quality, not daring to reject the supplied workers don’t know what the rules are and when the additional wood. food aid will stop. 65 igures quoted from The Asia oundation ARRA appraisal. In 56 Uplink and its network of 23 villages near Banda Aceh played Meulaboh, CRS is building standard houses of 45 sq m, while a crucial role, as described in the box Best Practices: Community Help is doing so in Seunuddon . Participation. 66 Villagers of Lhok Phuk in Seunuddon, tired of waiting for 57 Most people opt to return, but for some, it is a forced choice, houses promised by CORDAID, happily accepted the quick fix with no other options at hand since there is no other plot of land from the Yogyakarta-based YEU, who just provided timber and available a little further from the sea. money to pay the construction workers. It turned out to be bad 58 The Lancoek leprosy colony in Samudra Pase subdistrict near deal: low-quality timber and low investment (US$1,000 per Lhokseumawe got relocated, but the negotiations for the sale of house) with no extra facilities.

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 57 Indonesia Country Report

Annex 1: Terms of Reference (TOR) of ICS Study

Study on post-tsunami rehabilitation of fishing for deciding on and implementing communities and fisheries-based livelihoods in rehabilitation, etc.) Indonesia This section should draw on both secondary and Objectives of studies primary sources (government, NGOs, fishing 1) Provide an overview of interventions related communities, boatyards, net and motor suppliers, and to rehabilitation of fisheries-based livelihoods suppliers of other equipment). It could also draw in and analyze some of the key issues/challenges issues related to damage to aquaculture farms and arising from these facilities, and efforts towards restoring them, to the 2) Provide an overview of land, shelter and extent that they are relevant to the fisheries sector and reconstruction interventions specific to fishing communities. communities and issues arising therefrom Rehabilitation of fishing communities: Land Duration and shelter issues 30 days in October and November 2005 · Number of fishing villages affected, based on governments’ and other records Outline (draft) · Extent to which villages have been Background information: reconstructed ‘in situ’, or have been relocated, Pre-tsunami realities along the coast (issues related to and whether the decision to relocate was taken coastal and fisheries management, socioeconomic in participatory ways, and whether land is development of fishing communities, etc.) considered suitable · Housing: whether participatory processes/ Rehabilitation of fisheries-based livelihoods scientific norms are being followed · Damages to craft, gear and livelihoods, based · Key issues in reconstruction and rehabilitation on governments’ and other data of fishing communities · Interventions so far in the pre-harvest, harvest · Some examples/case studies of best practices and post-harvest sectors (for example, participatory processes, use of · Nature of interventions that have been sound technical inputs in making housing specifically aimed at women and other decisions, etc.) vulnerable groups in the fisheries This section should draw on both secondary and · Key issues arising (for example, oversupply primary sources (government, NGOs, fishing of boats, inappropriate or poor quality of communities). boats and equipment supplied, boats/ equipment supplied to non-cohesive groups Institutional aspects leading to conflict/cornering of benefits by • The role played by traditional institutions within influential individuals) fishing communities in response to the tsunami · Potential impact of interventions on disaster, and, in particular, the way they are vulnerable groups (especially women) and on mediating relief and rehabilitation efforts the sector as a whole (example: cold chain • A critical analysis of the roles and functions technologies and impact on women, supply of traditional institutions, and the potential role of new trawlers/ destructive gear and impact that they can play in fisheries and coastal on the small-scale sector) resource management post-tsunami · Some examples/case studies of best practices • A general overview of the respective role (for example, technologies for post-harvest being played by government, civil society specifically targeting women, processes used actors, UN agencies, etc. in rehabilitation

58 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Indonesia Country Report alang Jangka Buaya Jangka Bireuen itiesGlee, Ulee institution, history, BA interventions general & AO& general interventions (BA) Aceh Banda elihood programmes, fisheriesprogrammes, elihood Pidie Sigli, gaps and best practices best and gaps Meulaboh to close Taro, Labuhan and Issues discussedIssues regionCalang programme, isheries Place BA PLLnetwork, NGO isheries Utara Brit pulau mukims info strength, BA policiesact, Programme Raya) Nagan (Mereubo, Meulaboh BRR’s role in co-ordinating support,co-ordinating in role BRR’s BA adat laot Panglima Annex 2: List of Resource Persons ector ector Kabit DPK, District Head, isheries Dept.isheries Head, District DPK, Kabit interventionsand damage Overview, C DirectorExc. Pugar, PLLprogramme, isheries BA Miska ZulyadiMiska Dir PAPAN, NamelewwellingPeter NurhasanMulia isheries Officer, Chief Technical AO, Antoine MunozProcessingish Consultant, Organization AO, Brunede Marcel MarineRehabilitation Head, Belgium, Cross Red CookJon Damage, Programme Director, Deputy IRC, co-operatives& vessels Bigger Iskandar AhmadSjafi’i Dept. isheries processing fish Prov. prog., Head, Support NAD, DKP isheriesConsultant, ADB, BA Icut BA supportand damage policy, isheries Zulhanuddin, Hsb BA ADBprogramme, fisheries uture Director Walhi, arida BA SuhaimiMunaErdalinaEva Director Paska, KiranM. Mansur Co-ordinatorRegional Permata, prog. Livelihood Co-ordinator, Yasindo, Dir Yasindo Director Permata, activ isheries fisheries acts, Livelihood Liv act Programme BA Budi ABudi on NGO local Director, YKMA, YusyaSector isheries Vice-deputy, BRR,

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 59 Indonesia Country Report Jangka buaya Jangka Meulaboh (Samatiga) Meulaboh Lamno Pidie Buaya, Jangka and interventionsand Sigli plaints of no helpRaja Panta K cal fisheries sector fisheries cal eceived help and practices and help eceived Co-operative management of vesselsof management Co-operative Meulaboh Issues discussedIssues Place fisheries Local teamYasindo help, Received Buaya Jangka Annex 2: List of Resource Persons (contd.) pukat pantai pukat (PLL), Secretary, Province NAD Province Secretary, (PLL), activitiesand role PLL BA , dried fish proc. and traders (Yasindo)traders and proc. fish dried , R , dried fish traderfish dried , processingfish and market Local Tunong, Curee Director Co-operative isher Member, Board Toukay ish processor/trader ish YPK, DirectorYPK, laot Panglima OfficeProvince Staff, PLL, and act isheries LheueUlee Lhok PLL, DataLambada Local-level Secretary, PLL, fisheries Local fisheries Local Toukay BA BA processor/traderish BA Com T. RismanT. and Meulaboh District-level Secretary, PLL, Wardiah Asan Wardiah PardanYLEPP,Pidie, District-level Secretary, PLL, Damage NameIrwansyah T. ahmiaisal Adli Abdullah Organization (‘DekPon’) Muttaqin T. (ex-fisherman)Staff YPK, YaminSarbini Indriansah policies management Group MulohUjung Lhok PPL, Zulkifli NazarHj MunirHalidinPidieRaja, Panta Kula Local-level PLL, IbuAnca, Ibu YusM.Isaprocessors/tradersfish Local Pidie Buaya, Jangka Lhok PLL, Lo Bintang Basri Meulaboh Tadu, Kula Lhok PLL, HajarIbnu fisheries Local Zulkifli pak Numra, Ibu BireuenSamalanga Lancang, isher UsmanUmar (Permata)group fishers Pantai Putra Head, Rahman A. Mariani practicestrade and Support managementco-op fisheries, Local of head isher, managementand ownership Group Raya Nagan Tadu, Kuala helpand fisheries Local Raja Panta Kuala Pidie , Tunong, Buaya Curee Jangka bir Lancang,

60 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Indonesia Country Report alang Pidie Pucok Lueng,Samatiga Pucok Samatiga Lueng, Pucok opportunities, Panggong,opportunities, port Meulaboh Business support via local NGO, CDI NGO, local via support Business Pasi Jumeurang,KembangTanjung, Hadiz co-ordination Issues discussedIssues Place Idem Idem Annex 2: List of Resource Persons (contd.) ‘ngek beng’‘ngek Calangsituation, fisheries Local C toukay raders-cum-vendorssupportand activities Trading raya nagan Tadu, Kuala ish processor/trader ish Membe, ishers co-op Ikan JeuneuhaIkan co-op ishers Membe, AbdullahPLL help of Set-up co-op, Tanjung Kembang Lhok, Pasi arida NameHasanSadiah MasyamSauda Hj (Dedek)Darmawati processor/trader ish grouptraders ish Head, Organization processor/trader ish Safriada Abdullah AzisMuge-muge’trade and distribution Help, Boatmakert ish MusliadiKamalMustafa JoriUmran sector fisheries of Head Lueng, Pucok LEM Masyarakat Tokoh Manager, TarmiziLueng, Pucok LEM M. Amin Hakim BoatmakerMuliadiand Suwardi , trader, and isher Lamno ishers, Riza udincleaner Boat Boatbuilding and managementHzMarzuki HermanLamno isher, raya Nagan Tadu, Kuala Lamno isher, Meulaboh isher, AOtraining Boat supportand preference Boat Work Ujung Muloh Worksupportand fisheries Local Bubon,Samatiga Lhok Panggong life, and Work Ujung.Muloh Meulaboh Janguet T. ZulbailiT. tradermanager-fish Bubon, Lhok LEM andmanagement asset Village Meulaboh Samatiga, Bubon, Lhok

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 61 Indonesia Country Report

Annex 3: List of Key Documents

Aceh Rehabilitation and Reconstruction website: www.e-aceh-nias.org Asia oundation: Aceh Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Appraisal, ARRA, 2005. Bappenas. Master Plan for the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam Province (NAD) and Nias islands, North Sumatra, March 2005. BRR and International Partners. Aceh and Nias: One year after the Tsunami: The Recovery Effort and Way orward, December 2005. BRR website: www.brr.or.id DKP. Rehabilitatisi dan Rekonstruksi Provinsi Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam Paska Bencana Alam Tsunami sektor Kelautan dan Perikanan, 2005. Rehabilitatisi dan Rekonstruksi Provinsi Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam dan Sumatera Utara Paska Bencana Alam Tsunami sektor Kelautan dan Perikanan Tahun, 2005.

AO website: www.fao .org AO website report index: http://www.fao.org/tsunami/fisheries/index.htm AO. Micheal Phillips and Angus Budhiman. Consultant Mission Report. An Assessment of the Impact of the 26th December 2004 Earthquake and Tsunami on Aquaculture in the Provinces of Aceh and North Sumatra, Indonesia, March 2005. AO. Akmal Syukri, National Consultant (isheries). Tsunami-affected in Aceh, January 2005.

AO. Jean Gallene. Assessment of the isheries Subsector after the Earthquake of 28th March 2005 in Nias and South Nias Districts, June 2005. AO. Jean Michel Le Ry. Emergency Needs Assessment Mission Report, April 2005. AO. Mike Shawyer. Post-tsunami Assessment of Boatbuilding Activities in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD), Indonesia, March 2005. AO. Sigurdur Sigurdurson. Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of the ishing Ports and ish-landing Sites in Aceh after the Tsunami, March 2005. AO. Jean Gallene. Emergency Assistance to Support the Rehabilitation in Tsunami-affected Areas in Indonesia, Nias Island and North Sumatra Province, March 2005. AO. David James. Post-tsunami Emergency Intervention and Rehabilitation of isheries in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD), Indonesia, March 2005.

62 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Indonesia Country Report

Annex 4: Detailed Table of ishing Boats in Aceh Pre-tsunami Breakdown of Boats by Propulsion Type by District before Tsunami Nr District Non-motorized Outboard engine Inboard engine Total MMA AO MMA AO MMA AO MMA AO 1 Banda Aceh 35 508092 114 268 229 410

2 Aceh Besar 218 790475 492 202 341 895 1,623

3 Pidie 647 838 280731 355 478 1,282 2,047

4 Bireuen 845 855 614 614 574 727 2,033 2,196

5 Aceh Utara 236 381 392 460816 911 1,444 1,752

6 Lhokseumawe - 252 - 417 - 171 - 840

7 Aceh Timur 317 415 109 11 1364 15601,790 1,986

8 Langsa - - - - - 427 - 427

9 Aceh Tamiang 302 191 326 135 628 930 1,256 1,256

10Sabang 135 135 80 203 146 144 361 482

Total: East Coast 2,735 3,907 2,356 3,155 4,199 5,957 9,29013,019

11 Aceh Jaya - 225 - 299 - 257 - 781

12 Aceh Barat 645 193 198 24 817 515 1,714 732

13 Nagan Raya - 260- 136 - 197 - 593

14 Aceh Barat Daya 568 653 163 140140172 871 965

15 Aceh Selatan 1,265 1,265 626 626 474 483 2,365 2,374

16 Aceh Singkil 405 405 112 112 597 579 1,114 1,096

17 Simeulue 6402,088 430 - 7 1,706 1,077 3,794

Total: West Coast 3,523 5,089 1,529 1,337 2,089 3,909 7,141 10,335

Total 6,258 8,996 3,885 4,492 6,288 9,866 16,431 23,354

Source: MMA, 2003; and AO, as noted in assessment by Akmal Syukri, 2005

Type and Number of ishing Gear on East and West Coast before Tsunami Quantity of Nets Region Handlines Traps Shrimp net Purse-seine Ktg Gillnet Liftnet East Coast 318 1,416 977 4,303 474 2,576 735 West Coast — 384 656 4,191 459 7,373 1,116 Total 318 1,800 1,633 8,494 933 9,949 1,851

Source: MMA, 2003

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 63 Indonesia Country Report

Annex 5: Detailed Table of Boats Lost and Damaged in Aceh Number of Boats Lost and Damaged by Propulsion Type by District Nr District Non-motorized Outboard Engine Inboard Engine Total Boats Lost (%) Damaged Lost (%) Damaged Lost (%) Damaged Lost (%) Damaged

1 Banda Aceh 43 (86) 7 81 (88) 7 145 (54) 35 269 (66) 49

2 Aceh Besar 690 (87) 2 293 (60) 32 295 (87) 18 1,278 (79) 52

3 Pidie 495 (59) - 419 (57) 229 78 (16) 100 992 (48) 329

4 Bireuen 378 (44) - 238 (39) 136 476 (66) 175 1,092 (50) 311

5 Aceh Utara 177 (46) - 187 (41) 96 321 (35) 171 685 (39) 267

6 Lhokseumawe 227 (90) 5 380 (91) 11 152 (89) 8 759 (90) 24

7 Aceh Timor - - - - - 567 - 567

8 Langsa - - - - 2 (1) - 2 (0)

9 Aceh Tamiang - - - - 12 (1) 21 12 (0) 21

10 Sabang 100 (74) - 176 (87) 7 28 (19) 45 304 (71) 52

Total: East Coast 2,110 (54) 14 1,774 (56) 518 1,509 (25) 1,140 5,393 (41) 1,672

11 Aceh Jaya 215 (95) - 256 (86) - 84 (33) - 671 (86) -

12 Aceh Barat 82 (42) - 2 (8) - 236 (46) 217 445 (61) 217

13 Nagan Raya 230 88) - 124 (91) - 156 (79) - 510 (86) -

14 Aceh Barat Daya 14 (2) - 9 (6) - 79 (46) 15 93 (10) 15

15 Aceh Selatan 98 (8) 12 38 (6) 51 117 (24) 85 261 (11) 148

16 Aceh Singkil ------

17 Simeulue 255 (12) 148 - - 230 (14) 213 485 (13) 361

Total: West Coast 894 (18) 160429 (32) 51 902 (23) 5302,464 (24) 741

Total 3,004 (33) 174 2,203 (49) 569 2,411 (24) 1,670 7,858 (34) 2,413

Source: AO Assessment by Akmal Syukri, 2005

64 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Indonesia Country Report

An Assessment of the Post-tsunami Recovery Process in the isheries Sector of Sri Lanka

by Oscar Amarasinghe1 Senior Lecturer, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka

December 2005

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 65 Sri Lanka Country Report

Contents

Introduction ...... 68 Part I Sri Lanka’s isheries: An Overview ...... 69 Marine isheries ...... 69 The isher People...... 69 ishing Craft...... 69 ish Production ...... 69 Part II The Impact of the Tsunami: A National Analysis ...... 70 Introduction...... 70 Displacement of isher People ...... 71 Damage to isheries Infrastructure ...... 72 Damage to Livelihoods ...... 72

Part III Re-building the isheries Sector ...... 73 Introduction...... 73 The Role of the State ...... 73 Task orce for Rebuilding the Nation (TAREN) ...... 73 MAR’s Plans for Reconstruction and Rebuilding the isheries Sector ...... 75 Distribution of Entitlement Cards...... 78 Replacement of ishing Craft...... 78 Replacement of Marine Engines ...... 80 Repair of Craft, Gear and Engines ...... 81 uel Subsidy...... 82 Net Subsidy ...... 82 Rehabilitation and Development of isheries Harbours ...... 83 Interventions in the Post-harvest Sector: ish Marketing ...... 83 Other Reconstruction and Development Needs ...... 84 Permanent Houses for the Displaced...... 84 Livelihood Assistance ...... 85 Other Livelihood Issues ...... 87 Problems of School Children...... 92 Problems in Temporary Camps ...... 92

Part IV Major Issues, Constraints and Opportunities ...... 93

66 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Sri Lanka Country Report

Part V Recommendations ...... 98

List of Tables, Boxes and Map Table 1: Basic isheries Information (Marine isheries), 2004...... 69 Table 2: Type and Number of Craft and Beach-seines in Operation, 2004 ...... 70 Table 3: Annual ish Production by Sector (tonnes) ...... 71 Table 4: isher People Affected by the Tsunami ...... 72 Table 5: Number of Deaths and Missing Persons ...... 73 Table 6: ishing Craft and Beach-seines damaged by the Tsunami ...... 74 Table 7: Outboard Engines Damaged and Destroyed by the Tsunami ...... 76 Table 8: Value of Damages to ishing Craft and Gear ...... 77 Table 9: isher Houses Damaged and Destroyed by the Tsunami ...... 78 Table 10: Number of Craft Destroyed, Replaced, Balance Needs and urther Pledges by NGOs ...... 79 Table 11: Oversupply and Undersupply of Craft in Selected Districts ...... 80 Table 12: Government and NGO Contribution towards the Issue of ishing Craft ...... 81 Table 13: Procurement and Distribution of Marine Engines by AO ...... 82 Table 14: Status of Craft and Engine Repair ...... 83 Table 15: AO Involvement in the Repair of Craft and Gear ...... 84 Table 16: Engines Damaged and Repaired ...... 85 Table 17: Provision of uel Subsidy ...... 86 Table 18: Provision of Net Subsidy ...... 87 Table 19: Provision of Permanent Houses to Displaced amilies ...... 88 Table 20: Alternative Employment Opportunities for Women: Results of the Matrix Ranking Method ...... 89 Table 21: Problems Associated with Resettlement Results of the Pair-wise Ranking Method ...... 90 Table 22: Problems Associated with the Distribution of Craft and Gear: Results of the ree Scoring Method of Ranking the Problems...... 91

Box 1: Practical Action and the ishermen of Panama Lagoon ...... 96 Box 2: Excerpts from the White Paper on isheries Policy ...... 97

igure 1: Modes of Operation by TAREN ...... 75 igure 2: Status of isheries after the Tsunami: Results of the Application of the Historical Profile Technique ...... 92 Map : Sri Lanka: Coastal Areas Affected by the Tsunami ...... 70

Endnotes ...... 99

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 67 Sri Lanka Country Report

Introduction provision of fishing equipment and alternative The tsunami of 26 December 2004 struck a relatively housing, etc. have given rise to a large array of thin but long coastal area stretching over 1,000 km, problems, some of which appear to be or two-thirds, of Sri Lanka’s coastline. The damage insurmountable. stretched from Jaffna in the north down the entire This study attempts to assess the reconstruction eastern and southern coast, and covered the west coast and rebuilding process of the Sri Lankan fisheries as far north of Colombo as Chilaw. sector, with the aim of identifying the problematic Sri Lanka will need about USUS$1.5 bn to issues and looking for appropriate future directions. effectively implement a recovery and reconstruction The methodology adopted in this study could strategy, according to a damage and needs assessment be called as an ‘intermediate technology’. It used a report released by the Asian Development Bank host of secondary information from published (ADB), the Japan Bank for International Co-operation sources and websites, while primary information was (JBIC) and the World Bank on 2 ebruary 2005. obtained from informal and formal discussions and According to the latest assessments, Sri Lanka will need observations in the field, and participatory rural about US$2.2 bn to effectively implement a recovery appraisal (PRA) methods. Discussions were carried and reconstruction strategy. That includes capacity out with senior fisheries officials at the Ministry of building and substantial spending on the tourism isheries and Aquatic Resources, Colombo and the industry. Development partners, ranging from private Assistant Directors of isheries at the sample districts. individuals both inside and outside Sri Lanka, to Information at the landing site level was often obtained governments, NGOs and development agencies, have from the isheries Inspectors (I) of the respective pledged US$2.8 bn. As of November 2005, US$2.1 divisions. ield studies were carried out in Matara and bn have been committed. Hambantota districts, and assessments of the process About 86,946 fisheries-dependent people were of recovery of the fisheries sector in these districts affected, while 5,006 fishers died. The number of are given as annexes. Problems associated with fishing households affected has been estimated as livelihoods, resettlement and distribution of fishing 71,544. The fishers lost 16,101 craft, while 7,105 were equipment were identified through PRA techniques, damaged. The total damage to craft and gear has been employed to groups of fishers and fisherwomen in estimated as LKR11,696,068 (LKR1 = four of the heavily affected districts, namely, US$0.00974089, US$1 = LKR102.660). Moreover, Trincomalee, Ampara (both in the Eastern Province), a total of 13,329 fisher houses were damaged and Matara (Southern Province) and Kalutara (Western 16,434 completely destroyed. Damages to fisheries Province)2. These field studies were carried out by infrastructure and to the natural coastal environment investigators of the National isheries Solidarity have also been colossal. Large numbers of fisher (NASO). Due to escalating civil disturbances, the families were displaced and lost their means of situation in the northern region was not studied, which livelihood. is one of the limitations of the study. isheries was the major sector affected by the The study is divided into five parts. In Part I, an tsunami and there was an urgent need to reconstruct overview of Sri Lankan fisheries is presented. Part II and rebuild the sector. The government did not have deals with the impact of the tsunami on the fisheries the financial and managerial capacity to handle the sector, especially the estimated damages to people and crisis, and foreign and local donor assistance was property. The process of restructuring and rebuilding sought for the reconstruction programme. A large is presented in Part III, which describes the various number of international agencies, INGOs and NGOs processes aiming at rebuilding the fisheries sector, the not only extended financial assistance but were also actors involved, and the problems and issues arising. physically involved in the process of reconstruction Part IV highlights the major issues emerging from and rebuilding. However, even one year after the crisis, the whole process of restructuring and rebuilding, the results are not very encouraging. Several issues and Part V presents the recommendations of the related to co-ordination, distribution of relief aid, study.

68 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Sri Lanka Country Report

Table 1. Basic isheries Information (Marine isheries), 2004

Source: MAR, 2004 4

PART I Development has estimated the total fishery-associated Sri Lanka’s isheries: An Overview population to be around one million3. Situated in the Indian ocean, southeast of India, Sri The most important fisheries districts, in respect Lanka is a small country having a land area of 65,510 of the number of fishing household population, are sq km lying within the latitude 6o-10o N and longitude Batticaloa, Kalmunai, Jaffna, Trincomallee and 79o-82o E. Sri Lanka has a 1,700 km coast line of Negombo. It is evident that the majority of the which 1,150 km are sand beaches. Possessing a shelf important fisheries districts are found in the Northern area (up to 120 m depth) of 30, 000 sq km, Sri Lanka and Eastern region of Sri Lanka, with a majority Tamil has sovereign rights over an area of about 517,000 sq population. km of the sea, with the declaration of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in 1976. The same law ishing Craft designates an area up to 12 nautical miles as the The types and the number of craft and beach-seines territorial sea and a further stretch of 12 nautical miles in operation are given in Table 2. The number of as the contiguous zone. In the territorial sea, Sri Lanka craft registered pre-tsunami is 30,700, but the actual has exclusive rights to all living and non-living resources number in operation may exceed this by a significant of the water column, the seabed and subsoil, while in margin because, in certain landing centres, the number the rest of the EEZ, the country has sovereign rights of unregistered craft could be as high as the number to all living and non-living resources in the water of registered craft. column, seabed and subsoil, but not over the air space. Under the United Nations Convention on the ish Production Law of the Sea, Sri Lanka can claim an additional Sri Lanka’s annual fish production is around 286,000 seabed area (of 1,000,000 sq km) that has a tonnes, of which, 253,190 tonnes come from marine sediment layer of 1 km in thickness and contiguous fisheries (see Table 3). Offshore fisheries is of recent to the EEZ. origin and its contribution to production still remains isheries resources of Sri Lanka are categorized much below the coastal fisheries. under three broad types: (1) marine resources, Due to the prevailing ethnic problems in the (2) inland resources, and (3) brackishwater resources. country, information on fisheries activities in the northern and eastern districts of Sri Lanka is scanty Marine isheries and incomplete. However, it should be noted that The isher People northern and eastern fisheries districts account for a There are more than 1,337 fishing villages in the marine significant proportion of the total annual fish landings sector, inhabited by 132,600 households (see in the country. Table 1). About 151,800 people are actively engaged In general, it is evident that fish landings have been in fishing. The marine census of 1996 estimated the showing a gradual decline since 2000, which is quite mean household membership size to be five. The total true for most of the fisheries districts in the southern number of people depending on marine fisheries as and western regions of the country. However, such a their major source of income is around 611,900. The trend is not well evident in the northern and eastern Ministry of isheries and Aquatic Resources regions.

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 69 Sri Lanka Country Report

Table 2. Type and Number of Craft and Beach-seines in Operation, 2004

Source: MAR, 20046 PART II southern regions (see map). The most seriously The Impact of the Tsunami : A National affected sector was fisheries. The damages to lives, Analysis property and economic activities were colossal. About 25,910 fishing craft owners, 4,457 Introduction skippers, 33,346 crew members and 6,347 individual Although natural disasters are not rare occurrences fishermen were affected11 by the tsunami , causing along the coastal tracts of Asia, for most Sri Lankans great hardship, including loss of employment (see they are distant events. However, the tsunami of 26 Table 4). In addition, 806 divers, 492 fish collectors, December 2004 seems to have changed all that. It 6,484 fish vendors, 1,948 dry fish processors and 6,191 completely devastated life along the coastal belt of others were also affected, which resulted in complete the country, especially in the northern, eastern and disruption of fishing activities in the country.

70 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Sri Lanka Country Report

Source: MAR, 20048 The number of deaths and missing persons in total number of OBM craft in operation in 2004 was fishing families have been estimated (in July 2005) as 12,300. 5,006 (the earlier estimate was 7,900). The number of A huge discrepancy exists between data presented fishing households affected has been estimated as in Table 8 and more recent data used by the MAR 71,544 households. More females than males died, by (as at December 2005) and the AO in October 200514. a significant margin (see Table 5). The latter reports the total number of OBM needing Table 6 shows the damage to fishing craft and repairs as 1,341, whereas the earlier estimate was beach-seines. About 187 multi-day craft, 276 day fishing 7,249. The reasons for such overestimation could not craft with inboard engines, 4,480 small mechanized be ascertained; estimates during the immediate post- craft with outboard engines and 11,158 traditional craft tsunami period had been erratic and that there were were completely destroyed; a national total of 16,101 overestimations of damages to fishing equipment. destroyed craft. A total of 676 multi-day craft, 783 Personal communication with MAR officials too day fishing craft with inboard engines, 3,211 small revealed that the earlier estimates of engine damages mechanized craft with outboard engines, and 2,435 have not been revised subsequently. ield visits during traditional craft were damaged (a total of 7,105 craft). April 2005 to Tangalle, Hambantota, revealed that In addition, 818 beach-seines and 9,207 outboard about 80 per cent of the reported damages to OBM engines were destroyed, while 161 seines and 7,249 were false. engines were damaged. In respect of losses of large The government has estimated the total value of mechanized craft, the most seriously affected were damages to fishing craft and gear at LKR11, the districts in the southern province of Sri Lanka, 696,068,000. Losses have been highest in respect of while the northern and eastern districts suffered heavily fishing craft, followed by gear (Table 8). in respect of losses to small fishing craft, traditional A total of 16,434 fisher houses were destroyed craft and beach-seines. and 13,329 damaged. The worst affected was the 100- As indicated in Table 7, approximately 16,500 m zone (the area within 100 m of the shoreline), where engines have been damaged or destroyed by the 9,325 houses were completely destroyed (Table 11). tsunami , the number destroyed exceeding the number damaged. The most adversely affected districts have Displacement of isher People been Gampaha, Mulathivu, Trincomalee and Ampara. The total population displaced by the tsunami is The number of engines reported damaged and around 458,000. A proper assessment of number of destroyed is definitely an overestimation, because the fishing families displaced cannot be found, although

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 71 Sri Lanka Country Report

Source: MAR, 200410

the closest approximation of displacement is the It is evident from the above that the total loss number of fisher families living in camps and with due to damage to structures and fisheries institutions relatives, which is 25,288. (see Table 12). Assuming an has been nearly LKR7.6 bn. average family size of 4.6 (Table 9), the displaced population can be estimated as 116,325, which is Damage to Livelihoods roughly about a quarter (25 per cent) of the total The AO estimates that about 200,000 people have lost their jobs. The disaster has hit those who were population displaced. already poor, the hardest – fishermen and other Damage to isheries Infrastructure informal traders and micro-enterprises that were Of the 12 fisheries harbours in the country, 10 were located closed to the sea, housed in often ramshackle seriously damaged, with a total estimated loss of conditions. LKR1,441 mn. In addition, the Ceylon isheries • About 90,000 to 100,000 active fishermen lost Harbour Corporation also suffered a loss of their livelihoods. LKR2,792 mn due to the destruction or damage of • Small businesses lost 25,000 jobs. equipment, vessels and vehicles. • 30,000 jobs were lost in agriculture. The Ceylon isheries Corporation (CC), which • Approximately 40,000 jobs were lost in the is involved in the collection and marketing of fish, informal sector, which includes fish selling/ too suffered severe losses because of damage and transporting and drying, agri-business, agro- destruction of ice plants, cold rooms, deep freezers, processing, food and beverages services, buildings and vehicles. The loss to CC has been trading and manufacturing, curd-making, estimated as LKR2,146 mn. agriculture, animal husbandry, vehicle hiring, The National Aquatic Resources Research and etc.) Development Agency (NARA) too suffered a loss • An estimated 25,000 jobs were lost in rural equal to LKR348 mn. More than the equipment, the industries (carpentry, brick production, loss of information (data) is said to be irreparable. boatbuilding, weaving, batik making, coir Damages caused to the Batticalo Training Centre industry, rural craft, etc.). of the National Institute of isheries and Nautical • Total job loss in the tourism industry is Engineering (NINE) amounted to LKR186 mn. estimated at 27,000 (Out of 105 registered The Coast Conservation Department (CCD) also hotels in the affected areas, eight have been suffered a loss of LKR555 mn due to damages caused completely damaged, and 40 partially, leading to groynes, revetments, beach parks, equipment and to a room loss of 4,000, out of a total of buildings. 14,000. An estimated 8,000 staff have been Losses to the Department of isheries and rendered jobless and the future of at least 6,000 Aquatic Resources included the total destruction of more jobs in the tourism industry is uncertain. radio transmission centres at Kirinda, Nilwella, The coastal belt ravaged by the tsunami is largely Weligama and Kalmunai and damages to such centres inhabited by the poorer segments of the population at Tangalle, Kalametiya, Kudawella, Galle, Hikkaduwa, in fishing villages and communities. The northeast Beruwa and Trincomalee. The total loss has been region was doubly hit, since it was just starting a slow estimated as LKR132 mn. economic recovery, beginning with the signing of the

72 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Sri Lanka Country Report

Source: MAR, 200412 ceasefire in 2001, after 20 years of civil war. Some 5. Provision of temporary houses. villages and communities in the north and east have 6. Provision of craft and gear to commence been almost completely wiped out. fishing. Not only physical assets were destroyed by the 7. Provision of permanent houses. tsunami. The destruction of public buildings means the loss of legal records and documents. Banks and The Role of the State other financial institutions are now faced with Task orce for Rebuilding the Nation customers who have lost everything; or they have lost (TA REN) a large number of their clients. Moreover, the informal Three task forces were formed by a presidential nature of trading in small market places has been directive within weeks of the tunami: TARER (Task disrupted, and many grocery shops destroyed. The orce for Rescue and Relief), TAREN (Task orce means of transport, ranging from bicycles and three- for Rebuilding the Nation) and TALOL (Task orce wheelers, to buses and lorries, have been lost, and bus for Logistics, Law and Order). TAREN had a clear terminals destroyed. Many families and businesses lost mandate to facilitate, enable, co-ordinate and monitor their savings which were held as jewellery or cash, the post-tsunami reconstruction efforts. TARER was and cannot start rebuilding their livelihoods. responsible for, (i) collecting, analyzing and tabulating Boatbuilders, carpenters, cement brick producers, etc. data of those affected and compiling an ongoing have lost most, or all, their tools. ishermen cannot needs assessment for all sectors; (ii) co-ordination and pay boatbuilders in advance to enable them in turn to facilitation of rescue-and-relief and emergency buy new tools, as they need fishing craft to start rehabilitation activities through relevant ministries, earning money. Damaged cottage cement industries district secretaries and other authorities; and (iii) co- cannot satisfy demand, and sand and cement prices ordination of all international donor assistance, have already started to increase. voluntary services and NGO support, abundantly and speedily made available by both local and international PART III organizations. TALOL was involved in (i) co- Re-building of the isheries Sector ordinating the logistics of relief work; (ii) co- Introduction ordinating arrangements for securing food and other The post-tsunami reconstruction and rehabilitation essential commodities to victims; and (iii) providing of the fisheries sector required the following: law and order and security in the tsunami -affected 1. Provision of immediate relief aid to affected areas to ensure that relief activities were carried out fishers and their families in the form of food speedily and effectively, and victims were protected and other subsistence goods. from harassment and exploitation. The responsibilities 2. The development of a programme of relief of TARER and TALOL were transferred to one until medium- and long-term solutions are body, TAOR (Task orce for Relief) after the found. successful initial rescue-and-relief effort. 3. Provision of psycho-social support. The major activities carried out by the above task 4. A census of people affected and property forces were the distribution of food (received from damaged. various donor countries) among the victims and the

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 73 Sri Lanka Country Report

Source: Ministry of isheries & Aquatic Resources Statistical Unit, 2005

co-ordination of NGO activities. While distribution locations of affected areas. Most of the NGOs went of food was quite successfully carried out, with the ahead with their own plans and strategies of providing involvement of the local-level level consumer co- relief to tsunami-affected communities. operatives (Grama Niladhari), the District Secretaries TAREN’s role was quite important at the district did not have the capacity, staff and skill to monitor level. The district-level co-ordinating committees NGO activities. Most of the NGOs who attended consisted of the district secretary, divisional secretaries, district-level meetings were unhappy about the slow representatives of the relevant government pace at which the district relief activities moved, and departments (including the Department of isheries participated in district-level meetings only to have and Aquatic Resources) and NGOs and, often access to information on the extent of damage and working committees of Ministers and Members of

74 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Sri Lanka Country Report

Figure 1. Modes of Operation by TAFREN16

Parliament in the district. District-level information distance from the affected people, while, at the bottom, on damages, relief needs and restructuring was it suffered from lack of experience, which adversely disseminated at these meetings and strategies planned. affected the efficient implementation of programmes. More village-level activities were planned at the divisional level, where the divisional secretaries worked M AR’s Plans for Reconstruction and with the community-based organizations and NGOs. Rebuilding the isheries Sector The Grama Niladhari (GN) was the State officer at In order to deal effectively with the urgent needs of the village level, the smallest administrative unit, and the isheries Sector, the Ministry of isheries and was expected to provide all relevant information in Aquatic Resources (MAR) established a disaster the division and co-ordinate activities there. It is to be management scheme, the structure of which is given noted that fisheries administrative divisions do not below: follow the same pattern and the smallest administrative SPECIAL TASK ORCE (AT THE MINISTRY LEVEL)

unit is called the isheries Inspectors (I) division, ➞➞ which may involve one or more GN divisions. Therefore, the Is did not have much role to play at SPECIAL DISASTER STEERING COMMITTEE the village level and their services were not called for, in planning and implementation of certain fisheries DISTRICT DISASTER STEERING COMMITTEE relief programmes. (AT THE DISTRICT LEVEL) One of the serious problems associated with the ➞ TAREN was that, it did not have, at the district level, the required experience and capacity to handle the crisis. DISASTER MANAGEMENT CENTRE At the top, TAREN was inaccessible and kept a (AT THE I DIVISION LEVEL)

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 75 Sri Lanka Country Report

Source: Ministry of isheries & Aquatic Resources13

The Special Disaster Steering Committee of and their activities contradicted the plans of the disaster MAR consisted of senior administrative officers who management committees. were assigned with the task of looking into the needs TAREN did not work closely with the MAR of the tsunami-stricken populations and their needs during the first half of the year 2005, probably for in various districts of the island. The relevant officials political reasons. However, since August 2005, it has attended the meetings of the District Disaster Steering begun working closely with MAR. However, Committees held at the offices of the District discussions with MAR officials revealed that Secretaries. These meetings were attended by the TAREN’s contributions have not been significant. district secretary, the Assistant Director of isheries, Nevertheless, the Disaster Management Centres at the social development assistants and managers of various I Division level, have conducted a number of studies fisheries projects district, co-ordinating officers of the recently and these provide valuable inputs for planning proposed fisheries projects, the provincial engineer and policy-making purposes. of the Department of Coast Conservation, and representatives of the National Aquatic Resources Provision of Immediate Relief Research and Development Agency (NARA) and the The major source of post-tsunami relief aid, in the National Aquaculture Development Authority form of food and clothing of debris, etc. has been (NAQDA). The committee discussed all relevant the people in the immediate non-affected areas. An current affairs and made decisions about actions to enormous amount of aid has been received by the be taken in respect of reconstruction and rebuilding tsunami victims in fishing communities, the most the sector. The Disaster Management Centres conspicuous being food and clothes. Clearing of established at the I division level, consisted of the debris has been carried out by various organizations, isheries Inspector, isheries Co-ordinating Officers NGOs, government institutions from non-affected (newly recruited graduates attached to the Ministry), areas, the Sri Lanka defence forces, and various non- isheries Guards (newly recruited undergraduate formal groups. Apart from food and clothing, people youth), representatives of fishing community have received large quantities of bedding material, organizations, the Grama Niladhari, agricultural research kitchen equipment, tents, etc. from various donors, and development assistants and the Samurdhi Guards. and the people are unable to re-collect the sources of Since their establishment in January 2005, these such help. No complaints have been made about the committees have met regularly to assess the situation quantity and type of immediate relief aid received. and to decide the future course of action. The officers In the distribution of non-food aid, the temples, of the Special Disaster Steering Committee also made churches and mosques have played leading roles. It a number of trips to all districts in the country to was common to see even local-level administrative attend the District Disaster Steering Committee officers, such as the Grama Niladhari, operating from meetings. The major problem was the ministry’s such religious institutions. Where strong fisher inability to carry out the various decisions made at the community organizations existed, (such as the fisheries district level, mainly because of its poor financial co-operatives in Godawaya, Kalametiya of the position and poor co-ordination of activities at the Hambantota District), they played a very district and I division level. Most of the actors, important role in ensuring proper distribution of such especially the NGOs, bypassed the above committees, relief aid.

76 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Sri Lanka Country Report

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent have the responsibilities lay with the Divisional Secretaries. been some of the first NGOs to assume relief The isheries Inspectors too took a census of the fisher activities in the country. Most of aid received has been people affected and the property damaged, including essential goods such as toothpaste, soap, medicine, the loss and damage of craft and gear. The latter was etc. By ebruary 2005, a large number of NGOs had more accurate and provided a clearer picture of the assumed relief work. situation. In order to prevent any overestimation of craft and gear lost by fisher people in the area, the Provision of Subsistence Goods MAR decided to carry out another census by The most important immediate relief measures employing youth from fishing villages as isheries included the provision of LKR15,000 per person for Guards (Dheewara Niyamaka). Information obtained funeral expenses, LKR2,500 per family to purchase kitchen utensils, a cash grant of LKR200 and a basket from this census is now accepted as fairly accurate. of food worth LKR175 per week per person for six However, one of the problems of using village youth months, and LKR5,000 as resettlement allowance per was their insufficient knowledge of fisheries. family. All these activities were co-ordinated by Therefore, even this census would have made an TAREN. Cash grants were distributed at the offices overestimation of craft and gear lost. of the Divisional Secretaries and food items were Settlement of Displaced People issued through multi-purpose co-operatives at the level Due to the colossal damage to houses and property of GN Divisions. This has helped the affected families in the coastal region, about 458,000 persons were meet their subsistence needs and survive until displaced, who needed immediate assistance. permanent solutions are found to their grievances. Displaced persons in fisheries accounted for a quarter However, such help was promised by the government of this (116,335 or 22,885 families). Settlement of only for six months, but permanent solutions to the array of problems confronted by large numbers of displaced families was one of the immediate tasks of affected families were yet to be found. all parties involved in tsunami relief. Initially, most of the affected families found refuge in schools, temples, Provision of Psychosocial Support churches and mosques. However, a number of Psychosocial support to seriously affected individuals, NGOs provided temporary houses (tents, huts, houses especially women and children, was felt a very built with planks/galvanized sheets, etc.) and helped important and urgent need. Immediate psychosocial move people away from public buildings and places support has been undertaken in many districts by of worship. Refugee camps (Tsunami Sahana doctors in government hospitals. Even months after Madyasthana) were established in almost all affected the tsunami, some people were still suffering from areas. However, the conditions in these camps were psychological trauma and needed further support. not satisfactory due to poor sanitation, shortage of Various NGOs like USAID, World Vision, Red Cross, water, inadequate space, high temperatures, lack of UNICE and the International Organization for privacy (especially for women), etc. Incidences of Migration (IOM) provided such support. young women being harassed sexually have also been Census of People and Property Affected reported in certain camps. The initial census of the people affected and property By mid-ebruary 2005, 44 per cent of the affected damaged was estimated by the Grama Niladharis, and people were settled with relatives (15 per cent) or in

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Source: MAR

welfare centres/camps (19 per cent). In fact, many help was extended to those who were really affected people did not stay in welfare centres during the night, by the tsunami, although many NGOs resorted to but returned to such centres in the morning, in their own methods of selecting beneficiaries. One of expectation of aid. the serious setbacks of this procedure is that, ECs “As on 31 May 2005, 32,858 transitional units were were distributed only to those fishers who had completed, and 8,715 more are under construction. Although registered their craft prior to the tsunami. Given the pledges have been received from over 30 donors to construct fact that more than half of the fleet was unregistered, 53,000 such units, the actual number needed is much lower. a large number of affected fishers were deprived of When all these units are occupied before end June 2005, all the assistance from the State and other donor affected persons who are at present living in welfare centres and organizations. emergency tents would have transitional accommodation”17. Another facet of the problem is that, once a craft, In January 2006, the United Nations High engine or a set of gear was distributed to a fisher Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that holding an EC, this was not noted in the EC, allowing it had completed its post-tsunami role as the co- him to have further access to the same type of ordinator of a nationwide transitional shelter effort assistance. after the target of more than 58,000 shelters built by over 100 NGOs had been reached. The refugee agency Replacement of ishing Craft formally handed over responsibility for permanent One of the immediate needs of the sector was the shelter to the Sri Lankan government on 15 replacement of the destroyed fishing craft, engines and gear and repair of damaged fishing equipment. November 200518. IOM, UNHCR, World Vision, Red Cross, Red The President announced that she would get the Sri Crescent and Sewa Lanka have been some of the Lankan Navy to construct 2000 RP boats (with NGOs playing a dominant role in the provision of OBMs) immediately, while MAR was awaiting funds temporary houses. At present, transitional housing pledged by foreign countries. However, long before does not appear to be a major problem. the local solutions were found, a number of NGOs and individuals, including religious organizations, Distribution of Entitlement Cards started channelling funds to construct craft. After identifying the fishers who have been affected The AO has made a comparison of the number by the tsunami, the Department of isheries and of craft destroyed, replaced, the balance required and Aquatic Resources (DAR) started issuing ‘Entitlement the total number pledged by NGOs, which is given Cards’ (EC) to fishers. Only the owners of ECs were in Table 10. It is evident that achievement in respect provided with State assistance. Moreover, even the of craft replacement (no. of craft replaced as a NGOs were forced to provide assistance to EC percentage of the total number of craft destroyed) is holders because the ownership of ECs ensured that greatest for RP boat (96 per cent), followed by

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Source: AO, 200419 traditional craft (77 per cent). The achievement in At the request of the MAR, the AO is currently respect of beach-seines is low (25 per cent), while providing the services of a naval architect to assess that of the large fishing craft (with inboard engines) is the strengths and weaknesses of the existing multi- close to nothing. In general, the total achievement in day boats with regard to type, size and design features, respect of craft replacement has been estimated as 78 to identify the necessary and desirable features of per cent. In other words, 13,190 of the 16,919 fishing future multi-day boats suitable for the Sri Lankan craft have been replaced by December 2005. fisheries and to prepare outline design(s) of multi- Neither the government nor the NGOs took any day boats proposed to be constructed under the initiative to replace multi-day craft even by November tsunami reconstruction programmes. 2005. The NGOs, who seemed mostly interested in One of the most popular and heavily affected reaching more people, as required by their donors, craft is the RP boat (with OBM). About 4,480 of are less interested in providing multi-day craft. these craft were destroyed, with the heaviest impacts Moreover, the owners of multi-day craft are supposed felt in Trincomalee, Jaffna, Mulathivu, Batticaloa, be financially strong enough to replace their destroyed Ampara and Hambantota districts. Most of the craft. NGOs were interested in helping to provide such With AO as the implementation agency, the craft. They were seen as employing a good government has been able to secure funds from Japan intermediate type of technology, with moderate costs (US$2,671,000) and Norway (US$3,078,668) to and decent returns. Therefore, the NGOs immediately replace 3.5 tonne day fishing craft and multi-day craft. started to provide these craft to affected fishers. The government is offering a cash grant of LKR2.5 mn for multi-day boats and LKR1 mn for the 3.5 Unfortunately, many of the NGOs and individuals tonne day-fishing craft (about 60 per cent of the total did not consult the DAR in selecting beneficiaries cost of the fishing unit). Since the owners of most of and deciding on the number of craft to be offered. the large craft (especially the multi-day boats) consist This resulted in the oversupply of fishing craft, as is of more affluent individuals in fishing communities well evident from Table 11. Of particular concern is or businessmen, the owners are expected to secure the huge oversupply of fishing craft in Jaffna, Galle the balance funds. The beneficiaries have already and Kalutara, which would add to the already been selected and craft distribution have just experienced overexploitation of coastal fisheries commenced. resources. The story of Mulathivu, Trincomalee and

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Batticaloa districts is different. A large proportion of be replaced. If it is assumed that one seine provides the destroyed fleet of RP boats in these districts the means of living for about 35 families, then about (Mulathivu: 67 per cent; Trincomalee:-84 per cent; 21,245 families have been deprived of their major Batticaloa: 80 per cent) remain to be replaced. livelihood activity. Some of the net-laying areas (padus) At the national level, about 82 per cent of the have been heavily damaged by the tsunami. Efforts destroyed RP boats have already been replaced (as have been made by the government and some NGOs at October 2005). to clean the debris in paduIs, but with no significant A similar situation can be observed in the results. No information is available on the status of replacement of traditional craft. Of the 11,158 craft the seine fisheries, to make further analysis of the destroyed, 8,443 have been replaced (by October situation. 2005), which represent 66 per cent of the number Table 12 provides some interesting information destroyed. Oversupply of craft has been reported in on the contribution of various donors towards the districts of Ampara, Kalutara, Galle and achieving the task of craft replacement. It is well Hambantota. It is also to be noted that a large evident that the government contribution towards this proportion of the destroyed fleet of traditional craft task has been quite low (3.5 per cent), amounting to in Jaffna (91 per cent), Kilinochchi (100 per cent) and only LKR159.51 mn, out of the total funds Mulathivu (100 per cent) remain to be replaced. (LKR4,553.16) spent on craft replacement. A tale of woe is heard from the beach;seine fishers. Except in some southern districts like Replacement of Marine Engines Hambantota and Galle and Batticaloa Ampara of the Information on the replacement of damaged engines eastern province, most of the seines that were is scanty. The number of OBMs replaced is hardly destroyed by the tsunami have not been replaced. Of known, except for those provided by the AO (see the 818 seines destroyed, 607 (74 per cent) are yet to Table 13).

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The AO has imported a total of 655 outboard 53 per cent (see Table 15). Of a total of 7,105 craft engines at a cost of LKR86,000,000 and 435 of these and 161 seines reported damaged, AO has repaired engines have already been distributed. 3,808 craft and 40 beach-seines. In respect of repairs to inboard engines, which Repair of Craft, Gear and Engines required more specialized skills and heavy financial State involvement has been greatest in the repair of commitment, the AO has assisted (as the damaged craft and engines. A number of boat repair implementing agency) in the repair of 342 out of 400 workshops were established in all affected coastal engines damaged by the tsunami (a contribution of districts of the country and work on damaged craft 86 per cent). However, in respect of repairs to OBMs, was commenced immediately. Apart from the only 687 out of 1,341 engines damaged have been government, a number of NGOs too established their repaired with AO assistance (a contribution of 51 own repair workshops. per cent). In order to profit from the available ield studies in mid-2005 revealed that there have opportunities, a number of damaged craft from areas been extremely long delays in repairs to engines not affected by the tsunami have also been brought undertaken by the government-owned company, into repair workshops, which is why the number of CEYNOR. One major reason for such delays has craft repaired has exceeded the total number damaged, been the inadequate capacity of CEYNOR to carry showing a degree of ‘achievement’ above 100 per out such a task. The company simply did not have a cent. large technical department to handle the repairs, nor The government contribution towards the total any branch offices to undertake repairs at the local funds spent on repairs has been 36 per cent or level. Moreover, compared to the number of repairs LKR255.7 mn, while the major contributor has been to be done, very little ex-stock engine parts were the NGOs (64 per cent or LKR451.98 mn). available. Either due to long delays in importation or The AO involvement as the implementation due to restricted inflow of funds, CEYNOR was agency has contributed significantly to the repair of unable to deliver the goods in time. However, with craft, engines, and beach-seines, which approximates the subsequent involvement of the AO in assisting in

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Table 13. Procurement and Distribution of Marine Engines by FAO

repairs, CEYNOR could provide ‘satisfactory’ service. of net losses and the estimations were unrealistic and Notice should be made of the discrepancy too high. Moreover, there was a tendency for fishers between data presented in Table 16 and Table 7 in to provide wrong information on gear losses, in respect of the number of OBMs to be repaired. It expectation of free gifts of large volumes of more should also be noted that a total of 2,790 outboard efficient gear. This made matters difficult even for the engines have been repaired, whereas the number NGOs who were involved in assisting the recovery damaged is 1,341. This is because even engines from of the fisheries sector. Yet, fishing gear were areas not affected by the tsunami have also been distributed by them in a haphazard way, and there brought for repairs. were even instances of distribution of banned gear (like monofilament nets) in some parts of the country. uel Subsidy Since there were long delays in the It was realized by the MAR that provision of craft commencement of fishing in many affected areas of and gear was not sufficient because the affected fishers the country, the MAR decided to distribute a net were confronted with serious financial difficulties and subsidy (along with the fuel subsidy) to the affected were unable to secure funds for fuel and other variable fishers so that they could commence fishing. This was inputs necessary to commence fishing. Therefore, by given in the form of vouchers, the value of which mid-2005, the MAR decided to provide the fishers varied according to the type of craft. By submitting with a fuel subsidy. The subsidy amounted to these vouchers to CEYNOR, the fishers could obtain LKR30,000 per multi-day craft, LKR7,000 per day the required gear. A total of LKR75.2 mn has been boat, and LKR5,000 per OBM. This was a one-time spent on this exercise by the MAR, but the results subsidy aimed at helping the fishers commence fishing. have not been very impressive. The subsidy varied with the type of craft. A total of Again, the southern areas have received LKR102.5 mn had been spent on this subsidy by 31 preferential treatment in respect of the net subsidy. August 2005. ishers in the northern districts of Kilinochchi, Quite surprisingly, the fuel subsidy has not been Mulativu and the eastern districts of Trincomalee and distributed to fishers in Kilinochchi and Mulativu, two Batticaloa have not received the net subsidy. This was of the districts in the Tamil-speaking northern also true with some of the northwestern provinces province. No apparent reasons for such maltreatment of Chilaw, Puttalam and Mannar. could be found from discussions with officials of the Several problems associated with the net subsidy DAR. were noted. irst, CEYNOR did not have ready stock of nets to meet the demands of the fishers receiving Net Subsidy the subsidy. When the required nets were not available, Unlike the process of replacement of destroyed craft, the beneficiaries obtained whatever nets were available which took place at a steady pace due to the relative at CEYNOR and subsequently sold them to others. ease at which the number destroyed could be Second, the fishers had to travel to the DAR and estimated, the same process did not take place with CEYNOR offices in Colombo to get the nets, which gear replacement. It was difficult to assess the extent proved expensive. Third, the fishers complained that

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the packages distributed did not comprise nets that World Vision, the Greek government, and Nestle, were required by them. along with the Coastal Resources Management Project of MAR, have undertaken to improve the damaged Rehabilitation and Development of isheries anchorages. However, work has commenced only in Harbours Pinachchimunai anchorage. One of the major tasks in respect of rebuilding the It was noted that some of the repair work that fisheries sector was the rehabilitation, reconstruction could be undertaken by the CHC, were also and development of the 10 fisheries harbours and postponed in expectation of donor assistance. This the 34 anchorages. It has been estimated that a total has been a serious setback in bringing harbour services of LKR7,767 mn was required for this, for which to normalcy. foreign assistance was sought. In planning the rehabilitation work associated with Immediate rehabilitation work was undertaken fisheries harbours, several new facilities are to be by the Ceylon isheries Harbour Corporation (CHC), incorporated to meet the needs of the industry. These with a total expenditure of LKR67 mn, around 42 plans are still under construction. However, evidence per cent of which was spent by end October 2005 of consulting fishing communities in planning the (see Table 22). development work is hard to find. The Chinese government has undertaken reconstruction and development of three harbours: Interventions in the Post-harvest Sector: ish Panadura, Beruwala and Kudawella. USAID has Marketing undertaken work on Mirissa, Puranawella and ish marketing was seriously affected by the tsunami. Hikkaduwa, the Japanese government on Galle and A large number of ice plants, cold-storage facilities Tangalle, while the World Vision HANA (Korean) has and freezer trucks were destroyed by the tsunami. One undertaken work on the Kirinda harbour. Work has of the urgent needs in rebuilding the sector was the commenced only in Kirinda; the others are still at the provision of ice and freezer trucks for fish design stage. preservation and transportation. The MAR has

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estimated that LKR1,088 mn was required to install National Institute of isheries and Nautical Engineering facilities to provide the required ice for fish (NINE), and the Monitoring Control Surveillance preservation and to purchase 60 freezer trucks for and Air Rescue Division of the Coast Conservation fish transportation. Installation and commissioning of Department. unds have been secured from JICA containerised ice plants at Mulativu, Batticaloa, and an Italian NGO for work on NINE, and about Kalutara, Hambantota, Ampara, Trincimalee and 75 per cent of the work has already been completed. Galle, containerised cold storages at Batticaloa, However, no donor assistance has so far been secured Kalutara, Ampara, Hambantota and Trincomalee, a for rehabilitation and development of other 50 tpd block ice plant at Galle, a 300-tonne cold room institutions. complex with 0.5 tpd blast freezing in Galle district, Permanent Houses for the Displaced and an EU/HACCAP-standard processing plant in One of the serious issues in respect of reconstruction Galle district have been undertaken by the Ceylon and development of the fisheries sector is the need to isheries Corporation. JICA has agreed to provide settle displaced fishing families by providing them with all required assistance for these facilities. About half permanent houses. The MAR initially planned for a of the planned activities have been completed by the housing programme, with plans drawn up, but they end of October 2005. Non-availability of the required were abandoned for lack of funds. infrastructure in certain locations (where facilities are The Tsunami Housing Reconstruction Unit to be installed) has caused delays in implementing the (THRU), created under the Ministry of Urban programme. Development and Water, is implementing a plan to Assistance to the small-scale fish trade has come help people move from transitional shelters to exclusively from the NGOs. A large number of permanent housing. The government’s decision to fibreglass fish boxes and bicycles have been distributed introduce a buffer zone of 100 m in the south and among the small-scale fish sellers throughout the 200 m in the north and east made it necessary to country, both by international and local NGOs. implement two programmes: a donor-built However, the supply of ice is still inadequate. reconstruction programme for affected families from the buffer zone, and a homeowner-driven housing Other Reconstruction and Development reconstruction programme for partially and fully Needs damaged houses outside the buffer zone. inding Apart from the abovementioned important spheres, suitable land to relocate people outside the buffer zone a number of facilities are yet to be rehabilitated. These proved difficult. These relocated people still own the include the damaged structures and facilities of NARA property they have left within the buffer zone. The (including the destroyed research vessel), DAR homeowner programme is jointly financed by the (offices of Assistant Directors of isheries), the World Bank, ADB, the German Development Bank

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and the Swiss Agency for Development and Co- implementing authority for houses constructed for operation. Beneficiaries receive grants of US$2,500 tsunami victims, has clearly laid down both construction [LKR250,000] for a fully damaged house and and environmental standards. However, it was US$1000 [LKR100,000] for a partially damaged witnessed during field studies that some of these house. Some 5,400 houses have already been repaired. standards are not well respected. Most of the Repair or total reconstruction is underway on another construction activities are being carried out by local 50,000 houses. Nearly 500 totally destroyed houses subcontractors and the use of substandard material have been rebuilt. Donors are committed to in house construction was noticed. Yet, one cannot expanding the programme to new areas made available refrain from mentioning that the newly constructed by the recent revision of the buffer zone. houses are much larger and better equipped than most The status of permanent houses for fishers is given of the pre-tsunami houses of fishers, especially those in Table 19. which were located within the 100-m zone. The total number of permanent houses required for fishers remain at 13,890. Hundreds of NGOs Livelihood Assistance have undertaken the construction of permanent Apart from cash payments and subsistence goods houses. Only 1,436 houses (10 per cent) have been provided by the government as an immediate post- fully completed (by 31 October 2005) and about 4,000 tsunami assistance measure, most of the livelihood by the end of November. A very high regional assistance to the affected fishing families is provided disparity is also observed in this sphere. Of the total by NGOs. The affected families were provided with number of houses completed, 73 per cent (1,048) are producer goods needed to support livelihoods (craft, located in the Hambantota district. Availability of land, engines, gear, fish boxes, bicycles), goods required to the existence of a large number of NGOs, and political generate non-fishery incomes (sewing machines, coir- considerations have all contributed to this privileged rope making machines, etc.) and also cash (in the form position of Hambantota. Jaffna, Trincomalee, of ‘cash for work’). Batticaloa, Matara and Colombo are some of the The ILO conducted a Needs Assessment Survey districts where the problem of permanent housing is for Income Recovery (NASIR) in April 2005, in which yet to be resolved. 1,600 households in eight affected districts — The number of houses completed and those Colombo, Galle, Hambantota, Ampara, Batticaloa, under various stages of construction account for only Trincomalee, Mullaitivu and Jaffna — were 54 per cent (7,484 out of 13,890) of the requirement. interviewed. Eighty-seven per cent of households This means that it would take much more time than suffered losses or damage of productive assets. The expected to cater to the housing needs of fisher areas most affected were Mullaitiviu, Ampara and families. Batticaloa districts, where poverty levels are already There are several complaints that the country’s high and people need development support. While laws have not been respected in the hastily designed 60 per cent of the householders have regained some and implemented housing schemes. The Urban source of income, more men (55 per cent) than Development Authority (UDA), which is the women (40 per cent) are back to work. The situation

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Table 17. Provision of Fuel Subsidy

is more worrisome for workers over 40 years of age, through a cash-for-work programme, and the second relatively few of whom have recovered their source one will help tsunami-affected households access of income.27 electricity and water. Impact of “Cash for Work” Livelihood Assistance for Women A large number of international organizations It is well accepted that women play a very important (USAID, World Vision, ILO and many others28) were role in supporting their families to ensure sustainable involved in providing the people with “cash for livelihoods. ish processing, especially drying fish, work”. This programme intended at employing the farming, animal husbandry, sewing and making economically displaced people in tsunami garments, preparing food items for sale and rope reconstruction and rebuilding work. The workers were making are some of the common livelihood activities paid LKR40029 per day. Cash-for-work programmes of women in Sri Lankan fisheries. ollowing the implemented throughout the tsunami-affected areas tsunami, women have lost most of these livelihood provided the affected families with livelihood opportunities. insurance for the initial six-month period following PRA exercises carried out in Matara (Southern the tsunami. This was particularly true in areas where Province), Kalutara (Western Province), and considerable debris was to be cleared. Moreover, from Trincomalee and Ampara (Eastern Province) to find funds obtained from the Japan und for Poverty out the dominant alternative livelihood activities of Reduction (JPR), the ADB is planning to provide the women in fisheries revealed that making garments, temporary income opportunities to about 4,500 selling homemade food (especially sweets) and fish tsunami-affected people by employing them to processing (drying fish) form the most important improve drainage systems for 500 km of local livelihood activities of women. government roads damaged by the tsunami. Although “cash for work” provided the affected Of special significance is the importance of rope families with some kind of insurance against falling making (coir industry) in the south and animal into crises of subsistence, the work was poorly husbandry in the east (Ampara district). ield studies supervised and led to huge wastage of funds. Apart have indicated that some a number of NGOs have from this colossal wastage of resources, damage was distributed rope-making machines, sewing machines, done to the productivity of labour and attitude weighing scales, and gas cylinders among the affected towards work. The large inflow of aid made people families. Yet, the livelihood assistance extended to “lazy” and less “work conscious”. Even after securing women in fisheries has been quite minimal, as indicated fishing equipment, fishers were less interested in fishing by women during field studies. because they could live well on “cash for work” and One of the serious problems associated with other forms of tsunami relief aid. women’s involvement in alternative livelihood activities Two separate US$2-mn grants from JPR have is the ‘unsettled situation’ in respect of housing. It was been approved for tsunami victims in Sri Lanka. The indicated earlier that that out of the total requirement first one will provide temporary income opportunities of 13,890 permanent houses for fishers, only 1,436

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Table 18. Provision of Net Subsidy

have been fully completed (by October 2005)30. This entrepreneurial training. The project implemented by means that, the majority of families still live either in PARC will assist between 90 and 150 beneficiaries in camps or temporary houses and, under such a situation, the Jaffna district. it would be impossible to engage in the usual (pre- A matter that has not received sufficient attention tsunami) livelihood activities. or example, women in is the problems confronted by female-headed displaced families cannot engage in fish processing households. Widows and single-headed households because their dwelling places and sites of drying fish are particularly vulnerable as they have to deal with on the beach have been lost. Similar is the case with their psychosocial distress as well as caring for children agriculture, or animal husbandry, which cannot be on their own. The loss of the male head of the family practised by displaced families. Therefore, if any constitutes a serious blow to the economic livelihood support is to be extended to women under such of the household, significantly reducing its coping conditions, these problems should be given sufficient ability. However, no proper assessment of these concern. households has been made yet. To date, 770 families have received IOM The “unsettled” situation of affected families also livelihood assistance. Of these, 301 families were highlights the importance of designing more longer- identified as single-headed households or otherwise term strategies. This entails a correct understanding extremely vulnerable and were assisted as part of of the livelihood activities disrupted by the tsunami, IOM’s Counter Trafficking Programme. and the possibility of returning to some of the pre- tsunami practices. Granted that there has been a Other Livelihood Issues destruction of human capital, it may be necessary to The need for skill development provide short-term courses or training for such There is a need to look for new livelihood persons, aiming at restoring their livelihoods. The opportunities and train persons to replace the lost potential to shift to new livelihood activities and the labour force. A number of NGOs are involved in human and financial capital required for such shifts providing the affected persons with vocational training should also be understood and this may necessitates aimed at ensuring sustainable livelihoods. or example, not only skill development, but also the provision of as an integral part of the livelihood programme, IOM market links, building up the required management has conducted business development workshops with capacities and assistance in terms if financial capital. tsunami-affected self-employed persons. Twenty-one A good example is the existing potential for the reed tsunami-affected persons participated in a one-day industry (making of mats, baskets, ornaments, etc. out workshop conducted by the Business Development of reeds) in the Tangalle division of Hambantota Centre in Matara, to develop business management district. skills. IOM plans to continue to support the IOM has entered into an agreement with Pacific rehabilitation of the workshop participants’ businesses Asia Resource Centre (PARC), a Japanese NGO, to by supporting further training programmes as needed, implement a project that will equip societies of women and through the provision of the equipment necessary engaged in dry-fish preserving with technical and for the business start-ups.

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Table 19. Provision of Permanent Houses to Displaced Families

Strengthening community organizations operatives to meet the credit needs of their members, Displacement means severance of community ties and especially to enable them to adopt mechanized fishing. loss of ‘inter-connectedness’ of people in a Most of the distribution of 3.5-tonne day fishing craft community, which increase people’s trust and ability with inboard engines were made through fisheries co- to work together and expand their access to wider operatives with a 50 per cent subsidy. institutions. Such relationships develop trust, reciprocity As a community-based fisheries management and exchanges that facilitate co-operation, reduce strategy, about 1,000 landing site fisheries management transaction costs and may provide the basis for committees were established in 2002. These informal safety nets amongst the poor. This highlights committees were hastily formed, without long-term the importance of the presence of strong community- plans and most of them were never involved in any based organizations (CBOs). productive activity. With the government pledging The most dominant type of fisheries community LKR1 mn for each committee, most of the existing organization in Sri Lanka is the fisheries co-operative. community organizations collapsed. However, no The modern co-operative movement in Sri Lanka had funds were actually granted to the landing site its beginning after 1912 with the emergence of rural committees and they remain in a dormant state. The credit societies. isheries co-operatives date to the early only noticeable effect of the establishment of the 1940s. During 1941-1947, there were around 49 landing site committees was the collapse of the fisheries co-operatives, all of which shared the fisheries co-operative system. The fact that the landing requirement that the fish catches be sold by the society site committees were not established in the troubled on behalf of its members. Even at the early stages of areas of the north and the east ensured continuity of their development, loans were distributed to co- the fisheries co-operatives in these areas.

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Of a total of 1,018 fisheries co-operatives reached even the non-affected persons. Community registered, only 543 were considered as active31 by 26 participation in deciding about the type, and volume December 2004, and most of the active societies were of fishing equipment to be distributed remained weak. located in the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Decisions concerning relocation were made without Lanka. The total membership in all societies is 123,735 proper consultation of the communities. persons, which is roughly about a fifth of the total Many of these deficiencies could have been fishing population. ew of the best functioning tackled had there been well-functioning community fisheries co-operatives, with high rates of savings and organizations representing the true interests of the lending were restructured as isheries Co-operative communities. Where such organizations existed, they Banks. While promoting savings among fishermen, have often taken the leadership in identifying the these banks aim at improving the living standards of affected people, assessing the damages, and distributing the members of fishing communities by collective relief assistance among the affected persons and efforts. There were about 116 such banks in operation families by working closely with NGOs and by 26 December 2004. government officials. This helped reduce transaction The tsunami came at a time when fisheries costs, and pushed reconstruction and rebuilding in a community organizations in the south and the west socially optimal direction. remained dormant or weak. This had several negative These community organizations can also perform impacts at the village level: Assessment of damages important management functions. Therefore, any could not be carried out properly, due to the existence medium-term and long-term plans of reconstruction of high informational asymmetries between the and rebuilding should incorporate activities aimed at officials and the community. Tsunami relief assistance strengthening fisheries community organizations at the

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Table 21. Problems Associated with Resettlement: Results of the Pair-wise Ranking Method

landing-site level and increasing their participation in during the tsunami, have now been damaged. Even the process of decisionmaking. coral reefs that may not have suffered structural damage may be adversely affected by exposure to Rehabilitation of the natural environment direct sunlight caused by the receding water as the According to AO, the most significant environmental tsunami approached. damage from the tsunami is expected to be marine- In this context, two fisheries-related problems are related. Based on damage assessments in other significant. The first is related to the destruction of tsunami-affected countries in the Pacific region, it is padus (the smooth-bottomed areas near the coast, expected that the damage to the inter-tidal and sub- tidal area will be extensive. This could result in drastic where seines are laid). It appears that padus in many changes in the coastal marine ecosystems, with areas (for example, Mawella, Tangalle and Kalametiya potentially irreversible destruction of some areas, as of Hambantota district) were seriously disturbed and well as immediate loss of living coastal resources such are now covered with debris, preventing the laying as fish, lobsters and crabs. This will have serious of nets. This could be a serious problem on account implications on fisheries, as many of Sri Lanka’s of the important contribution of beach-seine fisheries fishermen are dependent on nearshore resources. The to the total landings of the district and the large pelagic environment is unlikely to be severely affected. number of families dependent on beach seining for No serious attempt has been made yet by their livelihood. Although the government had authorities to assess the damage to marine ecosystems. promised to take immediate steps to clean the debris Many coral reefs are likely to have lost their structure in padus, there has been considerable delay in and biota and may have even been reduced to rubble implementing any such measure. in certain areas due to mechanical damage. There could The second problem relates to coral reef damage. also be significant contamination by runoff from land, Studies carried out in Weligama by the University of with large quantities of wastes and pollutants, debris, Ruhuna have revealed that a large extent of coral cover soil and organic matter. Many marine organisms that is covered with sand and debris, and a fair extent of may have survived the tsunami, may now be adversely coral cover is dying. If the situation is similar in other affected or killed due to deposition of debris and areas as well, it could have serious negative impacts sand on reefs and seagrass beds. Mangrove areas, while on coastal fishing and the livelihoods of coastal having provided protection for property and life communities. Though researchers have recommended

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Table 22. Problems Associated with the Distribution of Craft and Gear: Results of the Free Scoring Method of Ranking the Problems

a clean-up of coral beds, hardly anything has been Problems common to most of the areas are: lack done. of permanent houses or inappropriate houses, inadequate educational facilities, insufficient productive Resettlement Problems assets (fishing equipment) and unavailability of The problems of resettlement are numerous and are alternative employment. Transportation problems are not confined to the provision of permanent houses. acute in Ampara. There are inter-related issues of community, Most of the problems could be attributed to the livelihoods, land tenure, health, sanitation, market and failure of donor organizations and the government productive assets among others, which cannot be to obtain community participation in deciding about considered in isolation. locations for resettlement, type and size of houses, PRA exercises carried out in the districts of facilities required, etc. Moreover, the heterogeneity of Matara, Kalutara, Trincomalee and Ampara revealed the coastal population was not given adequate a number of issues associated with resettlement, which attention, and common housing complexes were are presented in Table 21. planned for all displaced families engaged in different

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Figure 2. Status of Fisheries after the Tsunami: Results of the Application of the Historical Profile Technique

vocations. isher families were settled alongside other Problems of School Children people and their specific needs were not taken into Based on interviews with 230 children from seven account. ishers in both Ampara and Matara find it schools in the Galle, Hambanthota, Ampara and Jaffna difficult to carry fishing gear to the new locations. They districts, the Save The Children Alliance33 shows that would prefer to remain close to the coast. while considerable strides have been made in education In more urban areas with high population delivery, many schools still lack teachers, furniture and densities, finding alternative locations was difficult due appropriate teaching materials. The Alliance has helped to land scarcity. Land suitable for alternative housing tens of thousands of children get back to school in was too expensive. So land had to be acquired in Sri Lanka as part of its tsunami rehabilitation work, interior areas, away from the coast, where the required which included rehabilitating 21 schools (benefiting infrastructure for resettlement of families did not exist. about 15,000 children), providing extra classes and Education, transportation and healthcare facilities are equipment so that more than 11,000 children could in short supply in these areas. Since the supply of catch up with schooling, providing bicycles, and electricity and water requires heavy investments, they building 80 early childhood development centres for are unlikely to be provided in the short-run to the 5,200 children, aged three to five. more remote areas. Due to the highly saline water table, it is doubtful whether water could be supplied Problems in Temporary Camps from wells. Even in the large and well-planned housing Some of the problems confronting people, especially complex at Siribopura, in Hambantota district, the women and children, in temporary camps were settlers are supplied with pipe-borne water for two identified during the PRA sessions carried out in hours a day, though only about 25 per cent of the Matara, Kalutara, Trincomalee and Ampara districts. houses have been occupied. These are enumerated below. Most of the damage by the tsunami ccurred in i. Insecurity and lack of privacy water-deficient areas, where households were already Most of the temporary camps do not provide facing water shortage. In the past, several NGOs and fully covered dwellings for the families. Women foreign-funded projects had helped large numbers of especially complained of the lack of privacy households in adopting rainwater harvesting (RWH) and security. techniques. However, they have not been adopted in the newly built housing schemes for the families ii. Problems confronted by young girls displaced by the tsunami32. Desalinisation tests carried Many young girls have been subject to sexual out in a number of locations in Ampara and abuse and harassment, and parents remain Hambantota districts by the Water Resources Board helpless, with nobody to complain to. Some produced discouraging results. girls have become pregnant, and the poor sanitary conditions and lack of regular medical

92 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Sri Lanka Country Report

consultation add to their problems. The Provinces picked up faster. By May, most of the phenomenon of “tsunami marriages” among districts have recovered to some extent. However, underage girls is common in some areas. Relief the process of recovery appears to have slowed down and rehabilitation efforts need to be carried out since May. The total landings have been low during in a gender-sensitive manner, taking into January-March 2005, but improved during May. account the special needs and concerns of igure 2 gives information obtained from PRA women.34 studies in Matara, Kalutara, Trincomalee and Ampara iii. Poor nutrition and sanitation and lack of medical care districts, in respect of the pre- and post-tsunami status Infants and children in camps are often of fisheries. Although the number of craft and fishers undernourished. Coupled with poor sanitation, has increased, catches remain low. Although oversupply shortage of clean water, high density of of fishing craft has not occurred at the national level, settlement and absence of healthcare, children it has in certain districts, especially of traditional craft find it difficult to lead healthy lives in the camps. and RP boats. The numbers of fishers indicated in igure 5 would include those who are yet to receive iv. Drug addiction craft and those non-fishers who have received craft. Increasingly, large numbers of young people The low post-tsunami catches could probably be in camps are getting addicted to drugs, which has also led to an increase in domestic violence. attributed to the fact that fishing units acquired with external assistance have not been sufficiently equipped v. Poor educational facilities to engage in fishing. It could also be the case that Parents are unable to send their children to fishers are still in the process of outfitting their craft school for lack of uniforms, books and with buoys and weights, which are not freely available. transportation. In this context, the assistance It is also interesting to note the decease in the provided to children by NGOs cannot be diversity of fishing technology, revealing that in the undermined. UNICE, Sewa Lanka, World distribution of fishing gear the great diversity of gear Vision, Save the Children oundation, IOM technology has not been given much concern by the and CC have implemented several donors. This is also an important matter needing the programmes for them, including provision of attention of donors willing to provide fishing gear to school bags, water bottles, shoes, bicycles, the tsunami victims. Had there been a concrete policy clothes, and furniture for children in camps. of the MAR on the type of gear to be distributed, vi. Religious, social and cultural conflicts this problem would have been easily surmounted. These are especially common in multi-ethnic Assistance in the form of craft and gear has also been and multi-religious communities, such as those received by non-fishers, which could also be a reason in the eastern region, like Trincomalee and for the low fish catches post-tsunami. Ampara districts. vii. Mental health PART IV Depression among the more elderly people in Major Issues, Constraints and Opportunities camps is quite prevalent. Withdrawal from their own community and physical environment, and Danger of Overexploitation of Coastal isheries Resources a forced dependence on outsiders are among Most coastal resources are said to be heavily exploited the reasons for the poor mental health in relief and stocks of some species are on the decline. Recent camps. studies in the southern coastal fisheries using catch and effort data35 revealed that coastal resources have been ishing after the Tsunami biologically overexploited (actual yield exceeding the After the repairs to craft and gear, and the distribution maximum sustainable yield, MSY). Studies carried out of new craft and gear, the fishermen were able to along similar lines in the southern near-coastal fisheries recommence fishing, but at a very low pace, especially (up to 15 km from the shore)36 revealed that while during the first three months after the tsunami. coastal fish resources in Matara have been biologically However, fishing in the Western and Northwestern overexploited, Galle and Hambantota near-coastal

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 93 Sri Lanka Country Report

fisheries were being operated just below the MSY. “Most of the smaller craft being given to Research studies carried out in late 2004 in the west fishermen do not even contain the necessary Hambantota coastal fisheries indicated that the coastal polystyrene fills in the buoyancy compartments that fishery is operating at just the MSY, estimated at 349 stop a boat from sinking if water enters whilst at sea,” tonnes, whereas the actual catch was 347 tonnes)37. said AO Naval Architect Oyvind Gulbrandsen”.38 Already too many coastal craft have been supplied to Malsupply of fishing equipment also includes the Hambantota. Due to the danger of possible supply of destructive gear or banned gear, such overexploitation of coastal fisheries, AO has taken trammel and monofilament nets. Another related issue an initiative to monitor the process of distribution of is that, a large number of traditional craft have been craft and gear by the NGOs. Around June 2005, the distributed without the outriggers, which requires an AO established its co-ordinating centres at every additional investment of about LKR5,000 per coastal district and located their offices in the premises outrigger; an investment most fishers are unable to of the office of the Assistant Director of isheries, meet. Even the more resourceful fishers find it difficult the district-level officer of the Department of isheries to get the scarce lunumidella wood required for and Aquatic Resources. The first task of the AO outriggers. monitoring teams was the preparation of reports on The following is an AO assessment of the the quantity and type of craft and gear issues planned Southern Province (Galle, Matara and Hambantota to be distributed by the NGOs and the type and districts).39 quantity of craft and gear already distributed among • Of the 868 RP boats delivered, only 272 (31 the fishers. per cent) have gone to genuine beneficiaries. • or every fishing craft received by a genuine Distribution of Craft and Gear: Oversupply, Undersupply beneficiary, two fishing craft have been and Malsupply delivered to others One of the dilemmas confronted by the government • Of the 1,860 traditional craft delivered, only is that, while there exists an oversupply of craft in 757 (40 per cent) have gone to genuine certain coastal regions of the country, undersupply beneficiaries. and malsupply of craft are also evident in many other • or every two traditional craft delivered to coastal districts. Malsupply is associated with the fact genuine beneficiaries, three have gone to others. that some of the fishers who have lost their fishing Identifying genuine fishers is not easy. Both regular equipment due to the tsunami have not been provided and occasional beach-seine workers may identify with craft and gear under the tsunami relief aid themselves as fishers. Some fishers who had not programmes. They still await replacement of their lost registered their craft by 24 December 2004 were not equipment. The major problem is the inability to issued entitlement cards, although they too fall under identify beneficiaries, as indicated by PRA studies in the category of genuine fishers. The best way to Matara, Kalutara, Trincomalee and Ampara. identify fishers would be through community Of the problems common to many districts is consultation; either working with fisheries co-operatives the maldistribution of craft and inappropriate fishing or with other community organizations and Is. equipment (including the distribution of substandard There are disparities among regions and even craft). The distribution of substandard craft is serious among adjoining I divisions in the distribution of in certain districts than others. ield studies indicated fishing craft — there may be oversupply of craft in a that some of the RP boats provided to fishers did particular I division while the adjoining division may not even function for one month due to damages to complain of undersupply. the hull. This is mainly attributed to the poor quality One possible solution is to buy back some of material used to build hulls and lack of adherence to the craft and gear issued to non-genuine fishers and standards. Even as early as in March 2005, the problem hand them over to genuine fishers, rather than resort of the distribution of substandard craft was well to any new issues. Some of the newly built craft could recognized, although less attention has been paid to be supplied to areas where undersupply of craft is rectify this problem. reported.

94 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Sri Lanka Country Report

The importance of a package approach with the approval of the CCD. Most of the Apart from monitoring the process of craft and gear landholdings have no boundaries and the owners do distribution, it is also of importance to ensure that not possess title deeds to the property. With the fishers are provided a package of fishing equipment relaxation of the regulations on the setback areas, some (rather than a craft or a few nets) so that they could of the displaced families are willing to move back to commence fishing. The relief agencies aiming at their original land. ield studies revealed that some helping fishers to commence fishing at the earliest fishers who have received permanent houses in possible should note that “a craft here and a net there” Siribopura and Hambantota have moved back to their type of help will not work. What fishermen need is original land and have settled along the coast, while assistance to build a whole fishing unit (like a craft retaining the newly acquired permanent houses. equipped with engine and gear). Therefore, The displaced fisher people who have been living those interested parties should adopt a package in the setback areas as laid down in the CCD Coastal approach in providing assistance to fishers to Management Plan of 1997 would not be allowed to commence fishing. do so now. Even if they are willing to move back, they will have to wait for their land to be surveyed Setback Areas (Buffer Zones) and their Impact on isheries first. Title deeds have been destroyed and the Immediately after the tsunami, the TAREN declared government land registries located along the coastal a no-build zone — buffer zone or setback area — of belt have lost some documents. Not all fishers will 100 m from the high-tide line in the coastal trip of find their old abodes as pleasant and comfortable as the Southern and Western Provinces (which was they used to be, because many facilities were destroyed expanded to 200 m for the Northern and Eastern by the tsunami. Provinces). The 100 m (200 m in the north and the east) Livelihoods or Sustainable Livelihoods? regulation had adverse impacts on seine fisheries. The decision of MAR to extend assistance only to Living in close proximity to the shore is important those fishermen who have registered their craft prior for beach seining because nets are often laid, when to the tsunami poses a serious problem. While this fish shoals are located in the nearshore waters, which appears to be quite rational, it should be noted that a calls for proper organization within a short duration. large number of craft remained unregistered for a isher families could have been provided with elevated long time, a fact that MAR ignored. houses close to the net-laying areas in the coastal zone Cash-for-work programmes provide only short- or provided with the required fishing assets to engage term assistance, and there exists a need to ensure in alternative fishing activities. The new buffer zones sustainable livelihoods. Gaps still remain between the also affected fish drying on the beach, usually carried long-term needs of the people and the assistance out by women. The problem became worse when actually provided. Hence, identification of livelihood the affected families were relocated far away from strategies, and supporting structures and processes are the beach. of paramount importance. Due to the delay in the construction of permanent Assistance to women should be considered a houses, some of the affected people who were staying priority. Due to the seasonal and highly fluctuating in temporary houses and camps under harsh nature of fishing, many fisherwomen supplement their conditions have returned to their original compounds incomes with other activities like fish processing, and have started re-building their houses. The Coast farming and livestock breeding. Many of these self- Conservation Department (CCD) has turned a blind employment opportunities are no longer available. The eye to this due to the government’s inability to offer women now need to develop new opportunities, skills any alternative housing. and capacities. The government failed to implement plans for conservation and permanent housing in the setback Lack of Community Participation areas and was soon forced to relax the setback areas Community participation in making decisions and consider individual and institutional applications concerning the distribution of craft and gear, and for construction within the 100-m and 200-m zone, selecting locations for houses and beneficiaries, has

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 95 Sri Lanka Country Report

Box 1: Practical Action and the ishermen of Panama Lagoon

The tsunami brought life to a standstill around the Panama lagoon in the Ampara District. Almost all the 40 boats and gear owned by the villagers were destroyed. Though a relief agency provided them with some canoes and fishing gear to restore their livelihoods, only a few benefited. But they soon realized that the canoes were ill-designed and prevented them from casting their nets. It was at this juncture that Practical Action (formerly ITDG) decided to rebuild the canoes destroyed by the tsunami. The Practical Action team received the list of beneficiaries from the District isheries Extension Officer (DEO). It was verified at an open community meeting with the lagoon fishermen, during which they were also made aware of the Practical Action approach to building canoes. As the forum was open and transparent, there was less misunderstanding and conflict. Once the beneficiaries were selected, discussions were held to understand the type of canoe best suited to the needs and specifications of lagoon fishermen. The fishermen managed to recover some damaged canoes that they had been using before the tsunami. The most preferred design was chosen and four fishermen were trained in building canoes based on that design. The design specifications were sent to the DEO for the government marine engineer’s approval. All 40 canoes were constructed on the basis of these specifications. inancing was arranged by Practical Action, while the community chipped in with labour and food.

remained quite low. To a great extent, weak community Lack of Long-term Vision participation in the decision-making process could be The tsunami can also be seen as a blessing in disguise attributed, at least in the Southern and Western for conservation and sustainable fisheries. The CCD, Provinces, to the absence of strong community-based for instance, saw the tsunami as a good opportunity organizations. Wherever strong CBOs existed, they to introduce coastal conservation measures, which had taken the leadership in distributing craft and gear could not be properly implemented in the past. In the among the affected members. isheries co-operative absence of a long-term vision for the development societies in Godawaya and south Batatha in the of Sri Lanka’s fisheries sector, the post-tsunami Hambantota district provide evidence of the recovery phase mostly involved a replacement process important role played by CBOs in monitoring the rather than measures to increase the productivity and distribution of tsunami aid among members. The sustainability of the resources and livelihoods. NGOs too found such CBOs useful in helpling them Recognizing the urgent need for a national understand the people’s plight and assessing their needs. fisheries policy, MAR had submitted a White Paper In the absence of CBOs, the NGOs were forced to to the Cabinet of Ministers in December 2004, a few resorted to other means of carrying out their relief days before the tsunami hit the country. Unfortunately, measures, some of which would not have achieved it appears to have been since forgotten. The absence the expected goals. Some NGOs have overcome this shortcoming by collecting information themselves. or of a long-term vision hampered the organizations example, ITDG (formerly the Intermediate involved in the country’s post-tsunami rebuilding. Technology Development Group, now called Practical Without any idea of the future directions of the sector, Action) held community meetings to identify needs they replaced damaged craft and gear with similar and select beneficiaries (see box 1). Other NGOs used types, while the heavy fishing pressure on coastal the Is (the village-level fisheries officials who have resources warranted a shift of fishing effort to deeper strong links to the communities) to identify waters, which was stressed in the White Paper (see beneficiaries. box 2).

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Box 2: Excerpts from the White Paper on %isheries Policy

1. ACCESS & ACCESS RIGHTS 1.1 Steps shall be taken to provide the fishermen engaged in harvesting overexploited resources with appropriate technology and support, to promote shifting to other diverse fisheries related activities.

2. %ISHING TECHNOLOGY 2.1 Action shall be taken to develop selective type of fishing gear, in order to maintain bio-diversity, minimize waste, catch of non-target species, etc. 2.2 State subsidies, if available, be granted to fishermen through community organisations, to adopt eco-friendly, selective type of gear and techniques. 2.3 A complete list of prescribed gear and harvesting techniques shall be prepared by the state. Only such gear shall be allowed to harvest fish resources in Sri Lankan waters. 2.4 The State shall actively get involved, along with the private sector, in the production, importation and distribution of boat engines and fishing gear. 2.5 Standards for fishing crafts shall be established, and only crafts that meet such standards shall be eligible for registration. 2.6 Steps shall be taken to promote the exploitation of resources in the international waters by Sri Lankan fishermen, by developing the required technology. 2.7 All crafts and gear shall be registered annually, which shall be a pre-requisite for obtaining fishing licenses.

3. %isheries Management 3.10 Community-based management structures called “isher Peoples’ Councils” (PCs) shall be established at the landing site level (or in reservoirs, perennial and seasonal tanks, lakes, lagoons), entrusted with the major task of managing fisheries resources. Powers shall be delegated PC,s to carry out state laws and regulations and also to develop their own management strategies, in conformity to major fisheries management policy actions suggested by the state. The interests of PCs shall be recognised by the state as representative of fisher community interests.

Problems in the North and the East international donors and agencies have since designed Half the country’s fish landings come from the war- reconstruction and rebuilding plans for the northeast stricken northern and eastern districts. ishing has been area with the help of the State government’s ministries. adversely affected in the Jaffna and Trincomalee areas. Yet, field studies indicate that the ethnic strife has or security reasons, fishing craft are not allowed to resulted in unequal distribution of funds. Tension has go beyond certain limits. The distribution of tsunami also been rising in temporary camps where different aid among the affected families there became a ethnic groups are living together. Much of the problem problem due to the existence of a dual administrative lies in the absence of strong community participation set-up, with the government controlling some areas in planning, designing and distributing permanent and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), houses for the affected families. other areas. However, since foreign aid to the victims was mainly channelled through the NGOs, the affected Community and State Laws families benefited to a sizeable extent. A “joint The tsunami has led to a change in attitude towards mechanism” was suggested for the State and the community and State laws and compliance with them. LTTE to jointly decide on plans to rebuild the Laws governing the entry and use of destructive gear, northern and eastern regions. However, the proposal for instance, are no longer respected. The pursuit of was condemned by other political parties and the joint individual interests seems to be the dominant trend. mechanism was never established. A number of The government may find it difficult to strictly enforce

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 97 Sri Lanka Country Report

State laws in future if people get used to a “lawless” and religion. This was evident during field studies in situation. This is especially troublesome in the context Trincomalee and Ampara districts in the eastern of a possible overexploitation of coastal resources, region. It is this insensitivity that led to settling groups made worse, again, by the absence of strong fisheries with diverse backgrounds and beliefs in the same CBOs. temporary camps. It is also such insensitivity that led to the sexual harassment of young women in camps. Poor Co-ordination Cultural and religious differences should be well Poor co-ordination of the activities of the understood and given due concern before the government’s ministries has been a past reality in Sri beneficiaries are allotted permanent houses. Lanka. During the first few months after the tsunami, MAR did not take any initiative to co-ordinate the The Dependency Mentality activities of the NGOs. Lack of funds, staff poorly In the face of readily available aid, the tsunami- equipped to handle a crisis, and the unprecedented affected populations appear to have developed what influx of foreign delegations and relief workers could be called a ‘dependency mentality’. During the slowed the pace of MAR’s work. In the absence of early half of 2005, many tsunami victims refrained guidance and leadership from MAR and TAREN, from clearing the debris from their own compounds, the NGOs were left to do the relief work in their waiting instead for cash-for-work programmes to do own fashion. so. Many fishers, even after having received craft and The AO became involved in co-ordinating the gear, displayed apathy in returning to fishing. The activities of the NGOs by mid-2005. But intra-NGO tsunami appears to have added to the dependency co-ordination still remains quite weak, leading to mentality among Sri Lanka’s fishers, already used, since duplication of activities and wastage of funds. There independence in 1948, to State subsidies and credit. are instances of fishers with entitlement cards receiving similar craft from many NGOs. Alliances among PART V NGOs dealing with similar relief activities would have prevented such duplication. Recommendations 1. Malsupply of fishing equipment Women and Children • Use funds to buy back the fishing equipment Many children lost their parents in the tsunami. Those distributed to non-genuine fishers and who survived are unable to attend school for lack of distribute them among the genuine fishers. permanent dwelling, uniforms and books. Though • Stop issuing fishing gear to areas where school books and writing materials have been malsupply is noticed until the above strategy distributed by many NGOs, large numbers are is adopted. unsettled in respect of housing and employment; they • Try to provide fishing units to the affected live with their relatives at night and return to their fishers, rather than “a few craft here and a temporary houses in the morning, to receive relief few nets there”. aid. There are no proper national or district-level • Wait for the AO assessment of the status programmes for the long-term needs of the children, of the post-tsunami recovery of the fisheries although some NGOs have taken initiatives at the village sector. level. • Ensure maximum participation of CBOs Although several livelihood assistance and community leaders in assessment. programmes for women have been implemented by • Consult CBOs and community leaders NGOs, they are insufficient. Women’s important roles about the type and number of fishing in fisheries have yet to be recognized. equipment to be distributed and the Cultural and Gender Insensitivity beneficiaries to be selected. Programmes and activities undertaken under the • Establish standards for fishing craft and gear. reconstruction and rebuilding process have not paid MAR should also prescribe the type of sufficient attention to differences in gender, culture fishing gear to be distributed among various

98 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Sri Lanka Country Report

districts, based on resource availability and 8. Problems of women and children resource status. • Pay greater attention to the problems of 2. Overexploitation of coastal resources women in welfare centres/camps. Provide • Enforce State laws on fishing gear. private bathing and healthcare facilities for • Establish and strengthen fisheries CBOs, as pregnant mothers and infants. also suggested in the White Paper on 9. Co-ordination fisheries policy. • Ensure that NGOs work closely with State 3. Set-back areas (buffer zones) institutions responsible for implementing the • Try to settle beach-seine fishers close to their rebuilding activities. seine-laying areas. Explore the possibility of • orm alliances among NGOs who provide constructing elevated houses. similar assistance. • Let fishers settle along the coastal belt, in • Encourage better co-ordination among their own traditional homeland, if they are State institutions. willing to do so. Institute a mechanism for 10. Information asymmetries the distribution of permanent title deeds • Update data on damages and rebuilding or the houses already given out. activities, and improve data collection, • Get the Department of Surveys to survey in consultation with the affected the coastal zone and assist people in communities. demarcating the boundaries of their land in Ultimately, the survivors’ rights to dignity, gender the coastal zone. equality and decent livelihood must be upheld and 4. Sustainable livelihoods must guide all rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts. • Make provisions for more human capital (through skills development) and social Endnotes capital (by strengthening CBOs). 1 Senior Lecturer, University of Ruhuna, Matara, Sri Lanka. • Recognize the important role played by 2 These districts were selected to have a fair representation of women in fisheries and provide them with the regions that were severely affected by the Tsunami. They opportunities to engage in income- were also selected to represent different ethnic communities generating activities. affected by the Tsunami [Trincomalle and Ampara are • Try to identify new livelihood activities, predominantly Tamil and Muslim areas, respectively, while the based on the availability of resources in the population in Matara and Kalutara is predominantly Sinhalese. new locations, and the market potential. 3 Ministry of isheries & Aquatic Resources Development; Six Year isheries Development Programme 1999-2004. 5. Long-term vision 4 • The State should accelerate the process of Ministry of isheries & Aquatic Resources Statistical Unit, 2004 preparation of a national fisheries policy. 5 Including craft operating in inland waters 6. Community participation 6 Ministry of isheries & Aquatic Resources Statistical Unit, • Ensure community participation in making 2004 decisions concerning rebuilding of the 7 Ministry of isheries and Aquatic Resources Statistical Unit, sector. If well-functioning CBOs are absent, 2005 seek the assistance of community leaders, 8 Ministry of isheries & Aquatic Resources Statistical Unit, GNs, Is, religious organizations, and even 2004 heads of schools. 9 Ministry of isheries and Aquatic Resources Statistical Unit, 7. Sensitivity to gender, culture and religion 2005 • Be more sensitive to differences in gender, 10 Ministry of isheries & Aquatic Resources Statistical Unit, culture and religion while providing 2004 assistance to the tsunami-affected 11 The term ‘affected people’ mean those fisher people who have communities. either lost [fully or partly] their houses, and/or fishing equipment and/or fisheries based livelihoods due to the tsunami.

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12 Ministry of isheries & Aquatic Resources Statistical Unit, 27 ILO Office in Colombo, 24.06.05 2004 28 A very large number of NGOs were involved in providing 13 http://www.fisheriesdept.gov.lk “cash for work” and it was not attempted at enumerating all of them. 14 ‘October Progress’, AO Monitoring Unit, Ministry of isheries & Aquatic Resources, Colombo, 2005 29 The average wage per 8-hour man-day for unskilled labour in the southern province is about LKR300. 15 Ministry of isheries and Aquatic Resources Statistical Unit, 2005 30 Information obtained from MAR in December 2005 revealed that about 4,500 fisher houses have been completed. 16 By courtesy of Madhavi Malalgoda Ariyabandu, ITDG, Sri Lanka 31 isheries Cooperative Development Plan. MAR, 2005 17 Letter of Mano Tittawela, Chairman, TAREN to the editor 32 Note that the Urban Development Authority has identified of Daily Telegraph, UK the importance of including RWH facilities in the new houses to be built for tsunami victims (see Annex 3). 18 Story date: 22 November 2005, UNHCR Briefing Notes 33 22 December 2005 19 AO Monitoring Unit, MAR, Colombo 34 United Nations Commission on Human Rights, 19 Dec 2005 20 Ministry of isheries and Aquatic Resources (2005), progress 35 reports prepared by the Planning Division Kotagama H., mimeo, Department of Agricultural Economics, aculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 21 AO Monitoring Unit at MAR, information obtained 2000 November 2005 36 Amarasinghe O., The economics of a fishery and optimal resource use 22 MAR, Planning Division, data as on 31 October 2005 (mimeo), Department of Agricultural Economics, University 23 AO Monitoring Unit at MAR, information obtained of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka, 1999 November 2005 37 IDPAD project, (unpublished) “Public-private partnerships in 24 AO Monitoring Unit at MAR, information obtained the management of small-scale fisheries in South Asia-the case November 2005 of Sri Lanka, Department of Agricultural Economics, aculty of Agriculture, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka, 2005 25 Ministry of isheries and Aquatic Resources Statistical Unit, 38 2005 www.servesrilanka.net; New Item on 13 March 2005 39 AO, (unpublished) “Results of Beneficiary Verification” 26"Reconstruction and Development of the isheries Sector Ministry of isheries & Aquatic Resources, Colombo 10, Affected by Tsunami, Progress as at 10th October 2005", Ministry of isheries and Aquatics Resources, 2005 Sri Lanka, December 2005

100 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings One Year After: A Report on Post-Tsunami Rehabilitation in the isheries Sector in Thailand

by ederation of Southern isherfolk ( S ) Save Andaman Network (SAN) Sustainable Development oundation (SD )

January 2006

101 Thailand Country Report

Contents

Executive Summary ...... 104 Introduction ...... 108 Objectives ...... 108 Research Methodology ...... 108 Target Sites ...... 108 Scope of Study...... 108 Research Team ...... 109

Rehabilitation of Lives and ishing Communities after the Tsunami ...... 109 Context ...... 109 Situation of Andaman Before and After the Tsunami ...... 111 The Tsunami and Damages to the isheries Sector ...... 112 Damage to Small-Sale isheries ...... 113 Damages to Commercial isheries ...... 114 Marginalized Communities in the isheries Sector and Losses Caused by the Tsunami ...... 114

ishing Communities and Land Conflict Issues ...... 118 Housing Issues ...... 118 Land Disputes...... 121 Addressing Land Conflict Problems and Settlement in Tsunami-affected Areas ...... 121 Land Conflict Case Studies ...... 125 Relief and Rehabilitation Measures for Tsunami-affected ishing Communities ...... 129 Department of isheries and Relief Intervention for Tsunami-affected ishing Communities: Immediate Relief ...... 129 Department of isheries’ Relief Measures ...... 130 Relief Measures in Other Areas ...... 132 Roles of Public Organizations in Providing Relief to Tsunami-affected Victims in the isheries Sector ...... 132 Public Organizations and Network ...... 134 Relief Activities by Public Organizations and Non-Governmental Organizations and the ishing Communities...... 135 One Year After the Tsunami: Progress of Immediate Relief in isheries ...... 135 Assistance for ishing Gear provided by Department of isheries...... 136 Assistance for Tourism Boats...... 136 Migrant Workers in the Commercial isheries Sector ...... 137

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Long-term Post-tsunami Rehabilitation ...... 137 Aquaculture and Mariculture: Approach of Department of isheries Towards Long-term Rehabilitation ...... 137 Policy Trend on Andaman Development in the Post-tsunami Period: Trade Liberalisation and Investment in the Tsunami-affected Area ...... 138 Issues on Relief Assistance and Rehabilitation in the isheries Sector: Justification and Sustainable Development ...... 140 Measures and Regulations for Relief: ormal and Non-ormal isherfolk: Equality of Relief Distribution ...... 140 Marginalized Groups and Access to Relief Assistance ...... 141 A Common Ground in Assessing the Scale of Damage and Identification of a Relief Approach ...... 141 Ethnic Groups and Migrant Workers in isheries Sector: An Inability to Access Relief Assistance ...... 141 Recommendations for the Government ...... 142 References ...... 144 Endnotes ...... 145

Appendix List of Villages Affected by the Tsunami ...... 147

List of Tables and Box Table 1: Number of Dead, Injured and Missing ...... 110 Table 2: Number of Children/Students/Undergraduate Students who Lost ather/Mother/oster Parents due to the Tsunami ...... 111 Table 3: Livelihood Losses caused by Tsunami (in THB) ...... 112 Table 4: Impacts on Natural Resources and Environment Caused by the Tsunami ...... 113 Table 5: Losses in isheries Sector Caused by Tsunami ...... 114 Table 6: Villages With Severe Damage...... 115 Table 7: Number of People in Need of New Housing and Extent of Damage to Housing... 116 Table 8: Villages Impacted by the Tsunami and acing Problems of Land Conflict ...... 117 Table 9: Temporary Shelters Provided by the Government and their Location ...... 119 Table 10: Number of Permanent Houses Built in the Six Affected Provinces (as of 18 July, 2005) ...... 120 Table 11: Villages with Insecure Land Rights ...... 122 Table 12: Number of Tsunami-Affected Individuals in the isheries Sector (Damages to Aquaculture, ishing Vessels, and ishing Gear) that Received Assistance from DO ...... 123 Box : Experiences of Local isherfolk ...... 109

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Executive Summary paper uses the data of the Department of Disaster The tsunami disaster on 26 December 2004 caused Prevention and Mitigation as published on their great damage to life, property and the environment in website. This is official data, and might not reflect the various countries. In Thailand, as of 25 July 2005, loss of fishing gear, craft and fishing equipment that according to the Department of Disaster Prevention belonged to non-registered small-scale fisherfolk. and Mitigation, the tsunami-affected areas include The extent of damage has led to a drastic villages in 95 Tambon (sub-districts), of 25 Ampurs disruption of local livelihoods in the informal sector (districts) in 6 provinces of Thailand. The Community within the fisheries sector. The informal sector consists Organizations Development Institute (CODI) have of small-scale fisherfolk, including the ethnic group quoted a slightly higher total of 418 villages. 43 villages known as the sea gypsies (Moken, Moklen and Urak were severely affected, with all houses and fishing craft Lawoi), migrant workers who constitute the largest being completely destroyed. The total death toll in workforce in commercial fisheries, and vulnerable Thailand was 5,395 persons (2,056 Thai nationals, 2,436 groups such as women and children in the affected foreigners, and 900 unidentified persons); 8,457 fishing communities. It is evident that these groups of persons were injured and 2,817 persons remain people have been marginalized even more than earlier missing. 1,637 children became orphans (source: due to the loss of their livelihoods. Additionally, since Ministry of Education, 2005). In terms of they are considered as ‘informal sector’, the relief infrastructure, 4,806 houses were damaged, of which measures and programmes, particularly those from 3,302 were completely damaged and 1,504 were the government, national and international public partially damaged. There was also damage to public organizations, have failed to reach them in sufficient utilities like piers, bridges and roads, electricity and and appropriate measure and ensure the sustainable water supply, and the telephone network. The rehabilitation of the fishing communities as a whole. preliminary estimate of the damage was put at 1,057.39 In the light of the losses caused by the tsunami, mn THB (approximately US $27.826 mn). this study was conducted with the following aims: The most severely impacted sector was fisheries. 1. Providing an overview of the affected people (The Andaman coast accounts for 33 per cent of the by focusing on the marginalized sector and overall fisheries production in Thailand, while the Gulf describing the main actors in providing relief of Thailand accounts for the remaining 67 per cent). for these groups, including the relief measures, Based on the published data from the Department approaches and long-term policy trends. of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation on 25 July, 2005, 2. Assessing the impacts of these approaches on the total value of occupational losses in the fisheries the marginalized groups, and highlighting some sector was 1,808,891,883 THB (US$46.4 mn). A total key issues, particularly whether they have of 1,202 large craft, 4,783 small craft and 6,668 fishing enhanced or hindered the chances of gear (fish stakes, nets, fish traps) were damaged. 6,275 marginalized people being able to resume their aquaculture operators were affected. (Source: In livelihood sustainably and increasing their January 2006, the Thai Department of isheries opportunities of participating in coastal resource presented updated figures of damages in fisheries management in the long run. during the ‘Regional Workshop on Post-tsunami Rehabilitation of ishing Communities and isheries- 3. Identifying the key lessons learned based on based Livelihoods’, 18 and 19 January 2006). one year’s experience and making According to their presentation the final records of recommendations on public policies and damages were 4,907 small-scale fishing craft and 1,795 measures to be taken by relevant agencies. large-scale craft, 27,000 fish cages, 111,129 units of fishing gear (gill nets, fish traps, squid traps, and crab STUDY INDINGS traps), 300 shrimp hatcheries (15 mn square meters), Issues Arising during the Rehabilitation Phase and 55 ha of shrimp ponds. However, at the time The experience of one year of post-tsunami these figures had not been published and no provincial rehabilitation measures leads to the conclusion that, breakdown was provided. Therefore this research despite a large number of organizations and actors

104 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Thailand Country Report undertaking humanitarian programmes to help relieve widespread in the fisheries sector, particularly the suffering of the victims, a number of important small-size nets. During relief, this type of net issues remained to be addressed during the was again distributed widely, as some rehabilitation phase. These issues threaten the organizations did not have knowledge or sustainability of the community’s recovery and weaken understanding of fisheries. the community institutions by generating conflicts and • air compensation for fishing craft: It is also evident misunderstanding. Some key issues are mentioned that the compensation given to the affected below: communities is too low for the community to be able to revive their occupations and support Immediate Relief Measures in isheries their families. DO’s support was given in the • A lack of clear and accurate data and co-ordination form of cash and not by the replacement of on damage, resulting in duplication of support: The the boat, many who received the compensation duplication of support was caused by many from the government, were unable to afford organizations working in the field targeting the new craft because the compensation was much same activities, especially boat repairing. This too low for the price of the craft. Some people has resulted in an increase in the number of received additional assistance from private fishing craft as compared to before the tsunami. organizations or non-governmental This has occurred because of a lack of clarity organization to be able to purchase new craft on the actual number of craft and other data or repair their old damaged ones. While many regarding the affected people. urther, relief were unable to go out to fish and earn income, measures have been seen to have gaps that allow they were forced to spend the compensation people to make claims without these claims money to sustain their daily livelihood, such as being widely acknowledged by a wider group. buying food for their family members. Without This has allowed multiple requests to be made. additional assistance from other organizations, There has also been a lack of local mechanisms it would be difficult for the affected fisherfolk to manage the relief operations. The problem to resume their fishing activities. The of over-supply of craft will lead to further government’s assistance cannot guarantee that problems in the fisheries sector as a whole, as the communities can replace or repair fishing the carrying capacity of the sea is being craft; hence, the additional assistance from exceeded, increasing competition, and leading public organizations is important (assuming that to a degradation of natural resources. there is no duplication). or example, in some • Diverse approaches and strategies lacking co-ordination: cases, a deduction of 30 per cent would be This problem has led to conflict within the made in total claims by the local DO simply communities. or instance, one organization because the condition of the boat was poor provides free assistance by distributing money before being damaged by the tsunami. This was and readymade craft, while another sees the discovered during direct community interviews importance of the community’s mobilization in Krabi Province. It was not taken into account and establishes a revolving scheme, whereby that fishermen had to procure new craft and community members who receive assistance gear, and that these needed to be paid for in are encouraged to pay back the money to the full. This is indeed a critical problem for the community’s central fund (to support poor. community initiatives in future). If a community • Equality in relief distribution: The government must does not appreciate these values or does not not discriminate between affected communities have an awareness about this kind of sustainable who are registered and non-registered, by rehabilitation and the concept of reliance, they providing different relief measures for each are likely to enter into conflict among themselves. group. Both these groups of victims are • Assistance for destructive fishing gear: Before the affected by the tsunami to the same degree, tsunami, destructive fishing gear were and must hence be treated equally.

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• Principles and guidelines for assessing scale of damage right to receive assistance from the fisheries and identification of relief approaches: Government sector or from the other sectors, except in case regulations specify that there must be a of death. It is necessary to ensure that assistance committee appointed to assess the damage does not discriminate against them, and before determining the level of assistance. particular attention is paid to the ‘invisible’ However, there are issues arising from this labour in the fishing communities, especially measure. The committees set up were often women and children. composed of official leaders and local • Inability of ethnic and migrant workers to access relief authorities. The team received reports that assistance: These groups do not meet the because the principles and guidelines for government’s criteria on relief measure because assistance were mostly determined by outsiders they are not Thai citizens. These are the groups and did not undergo community participation that did not receive public attention even before they were not widely accepted by the tsunami the tsunami. In the case of the ethnic groups, victims, the principles and guidelines sometimes particularly the sea gypsies, despite their long did not reflect the real problems and needs of settlement in Thailand for 200 years and the affected people. The researchers also found contribution to the national revenue as a labour that there was a phenomenon whereby the force in fisheries and the tourism industry, they official relief committees in some areas do not receive citizenship rights and are hence provided assistance to their close networks and not entitled for welfare support from the relatives first. It therefore becomes unclear how government and have no land tenure and the scale of assistance is determined. There are education rights, and are often being looked often complains or doubts about why and how down upon by the Thais. The tsunami has some receive more compensation than others. impacted more than 400 sea gypsies in various urthermore, the work approach and ways. After the tsunami, a Moken village, Thap principles are only known among the Tawan in Phang Nga Province, is facing land committee members, and not explained to the rights conflict, when a private landowner affected people. This has led to mistrust and claimed that the land on which they have been increasing reports of injustice, unrealistic settled for more than 60 years belongs to a evaluation of damages caused to property, and private landowner. Because the conflict is inequality in assistance even though the level of between the community and a private person, damage is not very different. Due to this, internal and the Moken do not have land entitlement conflicts among community members have deeds, the government has refused to provide occurred. temporary shelter for them. • Relief measures overlook invisible labour and vulnerable Around 120,000 workers have been migrating groups in the fishing communities: The relief measures into Thailand in search of jobs (this figure needs not only lead to discrimination between the to be reviewed due to the fact that many have registered and non-registered fisherfolk, but not registered with the government), and most also fail to protect and restore tsunami-affected of them are employed by commercial fishing people who are the main labour force in the fleets. Until the present day, there are very fisheries sector. This group of people are not limited records about the actual death toll boat owners, but work as labourers, both in among the migrant workers, because many small-scale and commercial fisheries. The were displaced after the tsunami, hiding in the government relief measures were confined to forest due to fear of being arrested and the fisherfolk who own fishing craft (these are deported back home. The Ministry of Labour usually male fisherfolk). The labourers play announced that there were 9 dead, 2 injured significant roles during the pre-harvest, harvest and 106 injured. However, the Network of and also the post-harvest phases, but they are Migrant Workers and IOM (International not classified as a group of people who have a Organization for Migration) have conducted a

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study that found that 217 migrant workers died Long-term Rehabilitation Policies in Ban Nam Kem and nearby areas alone. As Policy trend towards long-term rehabilitation: for the survivors, they had lost their registration • The policy trend towards the rehabilitation of cards and other important documents, which the fisheries sector is to promote offshore were the only proof that they have a right to aquaculture under the name of the Seafood stay and work in Thailand. Bank Programme. This is a programme that Until the present time, there are still reports on started before the tsunami, but has been applied arrest and assault of migrant workers by local as a long term rehabilitation approach in the officials, and reports of mistreatment when they tsunami-affected areas. The idea of the seek help from the health services. The problem Seafood Bank is to issue ‘sea entitlement deeds’ of labour law has also caused problems for to fishermen who are interested in farming the migrant workers, in the sense that it very shellfish and other marine species, and to give much ties the workers to their employers. support for investment, training, supply of seeds Whatever they have to do, including seeking and marketing to the beneficiaries. The government help after the tsunami, involves government is of the opinion that there is still coming along with their employers to verify potential for the coastal areas to serve as a large- that they have a job. Especially after the tsunami, scale seafood production sites for export. when everyone is suffering, employers have However, the marine fishery is very much often not been able to make time to help. degraded and furthermore, the programme urthermore, little effort is made in providing would result in conflict among villagers who information for these people in their own are reliant on the same resource pool. There language, hence many of them do not know are also concerns about threats to the what to do. community’s access to natural resources and Immediate Relief Measures in Land and Housing food security by converting public property— Housing and conflicts in land ownership: the sea—to private ownership when the sea • The government took measures towards entitlements are issued. provision of temporary and permanent • The policy trend towards the development of housing for the tsunami-affected communities the Andaman coast is to designate Special by constructing pre-designed houses in a new Economic Zones. These zones are in fact to area. The total budget for a house is 100,000 be designated in other areas all over the country, THB, but there are reports of houses that do but they have also been selected as tools for not meet the natural, cultural and family needs, rehabilitating tsunami affected areas, for and are too small. or the people that do not instance in Phi Phi Island, Krabi Province, by wish to live in the houses that the government stimulating foreign investment and trade designs and builds, they are given 30,000 THB liberalization, and hence economic growth. The to construct their own house with a design that designation of this zone would cover area on they prefer. which the small-scale fisherfolk are dependent • Another problem related to housing is that on for sustaining their livelihoods. This many communities cannot return to their village powerful legislation that does not require a because of problems on land ownership, a parliamentary process It can result in the problem that occurred long before the tsunami. removal of existing legal land ownership, 81 villages are reported to face such problems, seizure of land and the promotion of any kind mostly in Phang Nga Province. Conflict is of development that the government desires. mainly between the community and the Without the participation of the local government, as seen in Thung Wa Village and communities, the zone will harm the interests Ban Kor Muk in Trang province. There are of the small-scale fisherfolk who settle in the also conflicts between community and private area with no land entitlement deeds. Despite a landowners, as seen in Thab Tawan Village. claim that it brings prosperity and employment,

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it is obvious that the programme has no affected by the tsunami in the 6 provinces of southern people’s participation and does not recognize Thailand. the pressing issues regarding degradation of Objectives natural resources and access to natural 1) To provide an overview of the problems faced resources, and the poverty and land security by fishing communities after the tsunami; of the marginalized groups. 2) To assess the impacts on human rights and • Tourism Development Policy to rehabilitate the natural resource management issues faced by tourism sector along the Andaman Coast: This fishing communities after the tsunami; and has been one of the key development trends 3) To draw lessons and make recommendations during the pre-tsunami period and has also on public policies and measures of relevant been identified as a strategy to rehabilitate the agencies. economy of the Andaman Coast, especially on income and employment generation. It would Research Methodology also expect to bring in investment and real estate This study is a qualitative study and utilizes community development . However, there has been no participation action research as the main methodology assurance that full and appropriate consideration along with focus-group interviews to collect of the grassroots economy and livelihoods information. Techniques for data collections including would be sustained. Even though the impacts organising group discussions in the tsunami-affected of tourism development in the tsunami- fishing villages in the 6 affected provinces. The affected area is not obvious yet, it can be informants include small-scale fisherfolk, people whose foreseen that the development, without livelihood is related to local fishing, and marginalized community’s participation could threaten the people (e.g., migrant workers and ethnic communities livelihood of the local communities as a whole. living around the tsunami-affected areas). Additionally, It is recommended that relief and rehabilitation efforts attention was given to engaging local leaders, both must rest on a basis of self-reliance and equality formal (e.g., village head, district head) and informal whereby the affected communities are assisted with (e.g., religious leaders, elders). Secondary literary review dignity and recognition of their rights to land and was also conducted. natural resources that correspond with the Target Sites maintenance of their livelihoods. Through the The study was conducted in tsunami-affected fishing promotion of communities’ self-reliance, the relief villages in the six affected Andaman provinces, viz. and long-term rehabilitation approach must Satun, Trang, Krabi, Phuket, Phang Nga and Ranong emphasize communities’ participation in decision Provinces. These villages are the current implementation making. urthermore, the principle behind site of the Save Andaman Network (SAN), which is a rehabilitation must rest firmly on the interests of the network of people’s organizations, the private sector, marginalized in order to rebuild their local economies and public organizations formed on 28 December, and conserve natural resources so that their food 2004 to provide immediate relief and long-term security and sustainable livelihoods are maintained. rehabilitation for the marginalized small-scale fisherfolk communities affected by the tsunami. Introduction Scope of the Study: Rehabilitation of isheries- This study has been conducted in a macro context. based Livelihoods This study focuses on assistance to tsunami-affected • Damage to craft, gear and livelihoods, based persons and issues arising from assistance. The majority on government and other data of people affected by the tsunami are fisherfolk, and • Interventions in the pre-harvest, harvest and hence they are the main focus of the study. The study post harvest sector tries to understand the complex problems of local • Nature of interventions that have been fishing communities and marginalized people (e.g., specifically aimed at women and at other migrant workers, state-less people and ethnic groups) vulnerable groups in fisheries

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Experiences of Local isherfolk

We used to have the sea as our bank. Even though we had no savings, we always had food because there were plenty of fish in the sea. When the trawlers started coming by, they swept up everything, all big and small fish. Even the mangroves were ruined; we believe that they are womb of the sea. Our life has changed—the daily income has dropped from over 1,000 baht to 300 baht. My children must go to school, and we must borrow money to buy boat and net. We have to sell back the catch to him because we owe him money; it does not matter whether the price is good or bad. When the tsunami came, all the boat and the gears were gone. I have lost everything. The government came and helped, but the aid was too little to carry out repairs. Now I am still afraid of the sea, but I must overcome the fear and go out to the sea. Even if we catch something, the markets are ruined, because consumers do not want to eat seafood from here. They are afraid that the fish may have fed on the corpses. We must work together to rehabilitate the sea because we have nothing else. – A comment from a fisherperson from a fishing community in Phang Nga, April 2005

• Key issues arising in rehabilitation disaster, particularly with respect to the way they • Potential impacts of interventions on vulnerable have mediated relief and rehabilitation efforts. groups (especially women) and on the sector • A critical analysis of the roles and functions of as a whole (e.g., cold chain technologies and traditional institutions, and the potential role they impact on women, supply of new trawlers/ play in fisheries and coastal resource destructive fishing gear and impact on small- management during the post-tsunami work. scale fisheries, etc.) • A general overview of the roles being played • Some examples/case studies of best practices by the government, civil society actors, and UN (e.g., technologies for post- harvest specifically agencies in rehabilitation. targeting women, process used for deciding on and implementing rehabilitation) 1.5 Research Team (1) Mrs. Ravadee Prasertcharoensuk, Sustainable Rehabilitation of fishing communities: Land and Development oundation (SD) Shelter (2) Ms. Duangkamol Sirisook, Sustainable • Number of fishing villages affected, based on Development oundation (SD) government and other records (3) Ms. Kesinee Kwancharoen, Sustainable • Extent to which villages have been reconstructed Development oundation (SD) in situ or have been relocated. Whether the (4) Mr. Wichosak Ronarongpairee, the ederation decision to relocate was taken in participatory of Southern isherfolk (S) ways, and whether the new land is considered (5) Mr. Parkpoom Witartirawat, Save Andaman suitable Network (SAN) • Whether participatory processes or normal (6) Ms. Sunan Ploeyjew, Action Aid, Thailand ‘scientific’ procedures are being followed with (7) Mr. Adisorn Kerdmongkol, Network of respect to housing Migrant Workers • Key issues in reconstructions and rehabilitation of fishing communities Rehabilitation of Life and Communities • Some examples/case studies of best practices after the Tsunami (e.g., participatory processes, use of sound Context technical inputs in making housing decisions, The tsunami disaster on 26 December 2004 caused etc.) great damage to life, and had severe impact on the Institutional aspects economy and environment in various countries. In • The role played by traditional institutions within Thailand, according to the Department of Disaster fishing communities in response to the tsunami Prevention and Mitigation, the tsunami-affected areas

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cover 412 villages in 95 Tambon of 25 Ampur in six Coral reefs in the Andaman sea are the habitat provinces of Thailand (see Appendix 1). The for more than 183 aquatic species. Slight damage is Community Organizations Development Institute reported to 3,000 rai (6.25 rai equals 1 hectare) and (CODI) has quoted a slightly higher total of 418 severe damage to 1,100 rai (around 625 rai of this is villages. 58,550 people from 12,017 families were in Phang Nga province). The coral reefs damaged by affected by the incident. The total death toll in Thailand the tsunami account for only 5 per cent of the total was 5,395 persons (2,056 Thai nationals, 2,436 coral reefs in the affected provinces (UNDP/World foreigners and 900 unidentified). 8,457 persons were Bank/AO 2005). Coral reefs deeper than 7 metres injured, and 2,817 persons are still missing (see Table were not affected by the tsunami. 1). A total of 1,221 orphans (i.e., children who lost As for the coastal area, damages were reported both parents) were identified. to over 6,000 rai, again mostly in Phang Nga province. Coming to losses of property, 4,806 houses were Mangrove forests, an important natural resource in damaged, of which 3,302 were completely ruined and the coastal zone due to their function as breeding areas 1,504 were partially damaged. The main economic and their high biodiversity, to the extent of 1,860 rai losses were with respect to people’s livelihoods. were slightly damaged in Phang Nga Province (Takua Damage to agricultural land was estimated to have a Pa, Kuraburi and Thay Muang districts), and in Satun total value of 6,625,174.50 THB, losses in aquaculture to the extent of 10 rai (Tarutaow national park), and fishing gear totalled 1,808,891,883 THB, losses in whereas severe damage was found in Ranong province livestock were worth 17,625,605.5 THB, and losses (555 rai).1 The damage to mangroves mainly comprises to office buildings totalled 13,101,249,720 THB. There broken branches and tresses flattened due to the waves. were also losses in public utilities like piers, bridges, The Thai Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives roads, electricity, water supply, telephones, etc., which and the AO reported that the damage to mangrove were preliminarily estimated at 1,057.39 mn THB. The forests was less than 1 per cent of the total mangrove provinces which suffered the greatest losses were forests in the six provinces. Phang Nga, Ranong and Krabi (Department of The most severe damage to forest resources was Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, 25 July, 2005). in Phuket province. rom the field survey, it was found Losses to natural resources and environment are that forests on the coast of Phuket are wilted. In Phang significant but not as severe as those given in Table 3. Nga the damage is reported to cover 3,500 rai. According to the official report, the tsunami destroyed However, other forest areas and ecosystems such as some coral reefs, sea grass, and some protected species coastal forests and swamp areas were badly affected (see Table 4). Phang Nga province suffered the most due to the wave washing away topsoil (see Table 4 severe damage to natural resources. for details). The Ministry of Agriculture and

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Table 2: Number of Children/Students/Undergraduate Students who Lost Father/Mother/Foster Parents due to the Tsunami

Source: Ministry of Education, 11 September, 2005: http://www.mis12.moe.go.th/tsunami

Co-operatives indicated that the survey of the damage assistance arose. Unfair allocation of assistance between was done on a preliminary basis to obtain quick Thais and non-Thai nationals is prevalent. Also, there information, and the Ministry plans to conduct more is unfair discrimination between fisherfolk who have detailed surveys later, when the natural resource and do not have fishing boat registration. Migrant and rehabilitation plan is to be formulated. service workers were neglected. Also, other problems Local fishing communities tend to have their begin to surface, especially land disputes between local villages situated on the coastal areas of the Andaman communities and other interests. Some of these sea. Most of the affected villages are in Phang Nga disputes can be traced back to a long history of and Krabi Province. The other communities along the conflict, including encroachment of public land, coastal line damaged by the tsunami are commercial conservation areas and coastal beach areas. Some of fisheries, tourism and service sector workers. these problems can be resolved within the Many of the tsunami victims were migrant communities, while others need public agencies to labourers working in fisheries, rubber plantations and actively participate because they involve legal sanction construction as well as in the service sector as and public policies (e.g., land disputes and housing for housemaids and shop keepers. Some of them do not tsunami victims). have work permits. A total of 88,558 migrant workers (Kerdmongkol 2005) were estimated to be working Situation of the Andaman Coast Before and After in the six provinces affected by the tsunami. There to the Tsunami was however no report of migrant labourers dying in ishing Situation Prior to Tsunami the tsunami. Another group of people that were The Andaman coast has a total length of 954 km, affected by the tsunami is the ethnic groups who covering six provinces of Ranong, Krabi, Phang Nga, migrated from Burma, Malaysia and Indonesia. They Phuket, Trang and Satun. The coast is characterized have been scattered across the six affected provinces, but are mostly found concentrated in Phang Nga and by small beach areas with reef slopes and many small Ranong Province. This group of people has not been islands. Some areas are mudflats. The coast is in the granted citizenship, despite their long settlement in path of the southwest monsoon from the Indian Thailand. Ocean and the Andaman Sea. Overall, the Andaman Immediately after the tsunami, assistance from ecosystem was very fertile and diverse, with mangrove within and outside the country flooded in. This helped forest, seagrass, and coral reefs making Andaman sea to alleviate some suffering and losses, but a number a unique breeding areas and habitat for aquatic life of problems related to the management of the (ederation of Southern isherfolk, 1998).

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The fertility of natural resources and the diversity workers working in commercial fisheries are migrant of the ecosystem in the Andaman area are important workers. The Labour Department estimates that there factors for the local fishing communities. According were around 120,000 migrant workers in the fishing to AO, in small-scale fisheries in Southeast Asia, there industry, but only 70,000 of them are registered with are a total of 621 fishing villages along the Andaman the Ministry of Labour. An estimated of 20–50 per Coast, whereby Trang and Phan Nga Province have cent of workers are working illegally (IOM et al. the highest number 132 villages each. The lowest 2005), most of whom are in the fishing industry. This number is found in Ranong (59 villages) (see http:// is because a fishing craft needs around 30 men to crew www.fao.org/documents/show_cdr.asp?url_file=/ the fishing craft and it takes around 30 days to go out docrep/004/ab384e/ab384e05.htm). It has been fishing on each trip. Many female migrant workers estimated that there were 16,531 families with an work in seafood processing factories, e.g., shrimp estimated population of 83,000 persons They engage processing. It is not possible to estimate how many in local fishing practices for food as well as income. migrant workers there are in the fishing industry, Some of them own small craft and practise traditional because there is constant change of employment.2 fishing, while others are engaged in commercial Some other migrant workers are in employed in the fisheries. There are also some large-scale fisheries tourism and construction sectors. owned mostly by investors living outside the villages (or even provinces). There are also related industries The Tsunami and Damage to the isheries Sector like seafood processing, trading and even tourism in The tsunami has significantly affected the fishing sector. the area. The Department of Disaster Prevention and Since the 1960s, the fisheries products produced Mitigation estimated the damages in 3 areas—fishing in Thailand have risen spectacularly, from 305,750 tons craft, fishing gear and aquaculture (see Table 5). A total in 1961 to 3,496,520 tons in 2002, with a market value of 1,202 large fishing craft, 4,783 small fishing craft of over US$ 4,444 mn. Thailand is now among the and 6,668 fishing gear were damaged. 6,275 top ten fisheries products producing countries of the aquaculture operators were affected (Throughout the world (ISHSTAT, AO, 2004). The Andaman area rest of this paper the researchers have used the 25th is estimated to produce slightly lower than a third (31.7 July, 2005 figures of the Department of Disaster per cent) of the total fisheries production of the Prevention and Mitigation for an analysis. Although country (AO 2005). more up to date figures were presented recently by isheries are an important source of earning for the Department of isheries, at that time these figures Thailand. They also generate employment opportunities had not been officially published and did not provide and income for workers. However, most of the provincial breakdowns). The Department of Disaster

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Table 4: Impacts on Natural Resources and Environment Caused by the Tsunami

Prevention and Mitigation has also estimated the total assistance. There are some village communities who economic damage of at 1,808 mn THB—most of have no access to this assistance and thus the the damage is to fishing craft and fishing gear. The information may not reflect the full reality. The NGO Thai Shrimp Association and the Asian Development networks need to coordinate with the Department Bank estimate the damage to aquaculture farms of isheries to identify the number of damaged fishing (including fish, shell and shrimp) to be as high as US$ craft that have not been registered with the 500 mn.3 government. If we look at the damage to small-scale fisheries, The damage to fishing gear is often linked with we find that there are 2 levels of damage. A total of the craft because most fishing gear are attached to the 43 villages were severely damaged, where all or the craft. According to Table 5, there were a total of 6,668 majority of the people in the village lost their craft, cases of fishing gear damaged—875 fish stakes, 3,632 fishing gear and even members of their families. The purse nets and 2,161 fish traps. The highest damages severe damage areas were in Phang Nga and Krabi were found in Satun (84 per cent) and in the rest only provinces. 2–4 per cent were damaged.4 However, it is likely that some damaged fishing gear went unreported, Damage to Small-scale isheries especially illegal gear (e.g., air compressors used for According to information collected by the coral reef diving) and traditional fishing gear used by Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, local villagers. as of 25 July, 2005 there were a total of 4,783 small The damages may not seem to be very high, but fishing craft damaged by the tsunami. Table 5 also for local fisherfolk these damages were highly reports damages in each province. The highest damage significant because fishing craft and fishing gear are to small fishing craft was in Phang Nga (22 per cent), the basis of their livelihoods. They need to have fishing followed by Krabi (20 per cent), Trang (17 per cent), craft and fishing gear to go out fishing to feed the Phuket (17 per cent) Satun (15 per cent) and Ranong family. According to Mr. Samair Jae Mudoor, the (9 per cent). These figures were compiled by the General Secretary of the ederation of Southern Department of isheries, and they only represent the isherfolk, ‘or the local fisherfolk, the boat is everything in registered craft that had applied for government their life. With a boat, they can make a living. They can commute

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Table 5: Losses in Fisheries Sector Caused by the Tsunami

and earn. Even the house is less important than the boat. The and lobsters. The high wave twisted the baskets, causing boat is not just for livelihood, but also for family security. All a crack, or the aquatic species died after the tsunami business depends on the boat—travelling to market, to see doctor, wave. to buy medicines Local fishing folks really care about their Damage to shrimp farms covers 233 rai, mostly craft because they have no other alternatives’ (Save Andaman in Krabi and Phang Nga provinces. Most of the Network 2005). commercial shrimp farms are on the higher land areas, and were not damaged by the tsunami wave. However, Damage to Commercial isheries there was serious damage to the nursery ponds, In all, 1,199 big fishing vessels were reported damaged, especially in the Muang District of Phuket as well as representing 24 per cent of the reported cases, with Takua Pa and Thay Muang districts of Phang Nga total losses amounting to 331.9 mn THB. Phuket province. These areas produce a large number of province has the highest number of cases (41 per cent), young shrimps for pond farmers, and the damage to followed by Phang Nga (27 per cent), Ranong (17 the nurseries would consequently disrupt the whole per cent), Krabi (12 per cent), Satun (2.9 per cent) and shrimp industry in the area later. The damage to the Trang (0.1 per cent) (AO and MOAC 2005). The nursery ponds includes damage to water pumps and cause of the damage was the tsunami wave pushing other farm equipment, and to young shrimp in the the craft to hit some structure, causing cracks or other nursery. There were also reports of damage to shellfish damage to the boat. farms covering 819 rai, with a production area of A total of 342 rai of shrimp farms and 15 mn sq 165,013 sq m. The damaged farms include green m of nursery ponds along the Andaman coast were mussel and ark shell producers. The damage was reported to have been damaged by the tsunami. Most reported in Phang Nga, Phuket, Satun and Ranong of the damage to the aquaculture sector consists of provinces (AO and MOAC 2005). the loss of floating baskets used for raising aquatic species. Phang Nga province has the highest number Marginalized Communities in the isheries of cases (29 per cent), followed by Ranong (20 per Sector and Losses Caused by the Tsunami cent) and Satun (18 per cent). The aquatic animals raised The tsunami not only affected the fisherfolk in the in these floating baskets include groupers, snappers, fishing communities and the tourists, but also

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marginalized groups within the fisheries sector. These present time, there are around 6,900 sea gypsies living have received far less attention, but they were also along the Andaman coast. The Urak Rawoi are the severely affected by the tsunami. These groups include largest group among the three. the stateless people, migrant workers and ethnic groups Despite their presence in Thailand for more than (the sea gypsies of the Moken, etc.). They are minority 200 years, the sea gypsies are still viewed as a groups and are invisible in society, but are however marginalized group in society. This is because they do part of the fisheries sector in Thailand. They are the not have citizenship or identity cards and are thus not labour force of the sector, both in small- and large- recognized as Thai citizens. They do not have any rights scale fisheries as well as in the service sector and the and are not protected by the Thai government. The tourism industry. Therefore, in order to understand majority of the sea gypsies do not wish to travel to the impacts of the tsunami in the fisheries sector, one the city, fearing arrest by the police, who might mistake also needs to look into how these marginalized groups them as illegal migrant workers from overseas. They are impacted by the tsunami. do not have rights to establish settlements; hence they The sea gypsies or nomads are traditional have very insecure land ownership that leads them into fisherfolk, who have migrated from the Malayan conflict. Because of a lack of land entitlement Peninsula and Burma. In Thailand, there are 3 main documents and many associated rights, the sea gypsies ethnic groups among the sea gypsies. These include have been evicted from their land on many occasions. the Moken who live on Prathong Island and Kuraburi At the same time, the Thais tend to not have a good district in Phang Nga Province, and along the coast perception of the sea gypsies, resulting in incidents of of Trakuapar district and Tai Muang district in Phang discrimination. The Thais tend to view the sea gypsies Nga province and Klang district in Phuket Province. as backward and uneducated. As expressed by Mr. The second group is the Mokren, living around Lam Suriya Sitttipong, a villager from Lame Tuk Kae Village, Lar in Phuket Province and Tai Muang district and ‘They look upon us as a lowest class of human being. They talk Trakua Par district in Phang Nga province. The third to us as if they are bosses and we are uneducated. They want group is the Urak Rawoi, who are nomads, moving their land back, saying that they have the land documents (Sor around between Sirai Island and Rawai Beach in Phuket Kor and Tor Bor).5 But we don’t have them. So this land that province and in Sagka U village and Hua Lame Village we have been living on belongs to somebody else, it is not ours.’ on Lanta Isaland in Krabi Province (Pratuang After the tsunami, this group of people has been Kluerhong, 1998:2 in Action Aid Thailand).At the facing even greater problems. A report from Action

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Aid on ‘Ethnic Groups and Tsunami’ reported that The migrant workers comprise workers who around 1,000 sea gypsies have been impacted by the migrated from Burma, Laos and Cambodia (these tsunami. They have lost houses, fishing tools and craft, three countries account for 99 per cent of the migrant while some communities along the beach are now workers), usually illegally. They are concentrated in facing conflict with the government, which has Phang Nga and Phuket Province, where they are announced a policy about beach land use regulation employed in commercial fisheries and the tourism to ‘improve the scenery for tourists’ and for ‘safety’, sector. Initial statistics from the Ministry of Labour resulting in a policy of constructing permanent and state that there are approximately 120,000 migrant temporary houses 3 km away from the beach. workers along the Andaman Coast, of which 70,000 Another group that is considered as marginalized have been registered (Kerdmongkol 2005). However, and has been living along the Andaman coast is that it has been stated by the Network of Migrant Workers of stateless persons. They are the group of people that there are more of them, approximately as many who have been made ‘stateless’ as a result of a national as 20–50 per cent of the number of registered migrant boundary demarcation between Thailand and England, workers (IOM et al. 2005). when the latter was taking over Burma. These people With respect to migrant workers that are working were living along the border of both countries and in commercial fisheries, males are in a majority and were left out from the survey. This has resulted in they largely work as fishing fleet crew. In the their nationality being unclear. They do not have an commercial craft, these workers have the responsibility opportunity to be protected by the government due of throwing nets into the sea and dragging the nets to a lack of birth certificate, no education, no back out of the sea. As for women, they tend to work registration, no protection with respect to labour rights in shrimp and shellfish shelling. as well as property rights, no practice of death reports The number of migrant workers in the fisheries and no right to vote in the country administration. sector is unclear, since there is a constant shifting of They are therefore practically considered non-existent the workers. Income earned is usually sent back to in Thailand. Many of these people are now living in their family and children once a month. Children of Ranong Province. On the surface, these people look migrant workers do not have access to formal like Thais and speak Thai. There is yet no record of education. The registration of these workers is a how many have died during the tsunami. painful process, full of red tape. It involves emigrant

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registration, health service registration and migrant night, and also have easy access to the sea. However, workers registration, wherein the employer must come the land occupied by the small-scale fisherfolk is often forward as the employer of the worker. The public land, and therefore they settle on this land registration fee is 4,500 THB per person and must be without any land entitlement deeds. They often get renewed every year, when another 3,500 THB must into conflicts over this with the government and private be paid. Because of this, many workers cannot afford parties, as the land occupied by the small-scale fisherfolk to pay such a high price and must rely on their employer is often a target for development, especially tourism. to assist them. This dependency has in many cases The livelihood of the small-scale fisherfolk during the provided an opportunity for the employers to take pre-tsunami period, therefore, often encountered a advantage of the workers by paying low wages and number of problems, including coastal resource demanding that they work extra hours. degradation, poverty and insecurity of land tenure. After the tsunami, the migrant workers, especially After the tsunami, land conflicts along the coastal those employed in the commercial fisheries, were area came to public attention. In Thailand, the tsunami affected badly, mostly due to a loss of employment has washed away many fishing communities, but at and also due to loss of legal documents such as the same time it has provided an opportunity for the identification cards and other relevant registration government and the private sector to permanently proofs. Given that there is no clear baseline data about remove the fishing community out of the coastal areas. the population of migrant workers, it was very difficult In some areas, there are land conflict cases between till now to confirm the number of dead and injured. two private sector parties. Despite saying this, the Ministry of Labour announced ‘Our ancestors lived and died here. We have lived here that altogether 9 migrant workers died, 106 were from the day we were born. This is our home. We can never live injured and 9 were missing. However, the Network anywhere else.’ – Mrs. Larb Harnthalay, 47 years, a Moken of Migrant Workers and IOM have conducted a study from Ban Thab Tawan that found that 217 migrant workers died in Ban Nam ‘If we cannot keep our craft here, where could we do so? Kem and nearby areas alone. The discrepancies in the We cannot keep it on the beach because of strong waves and data revealed by the government and private wind.’ – Mr. Nuew Nawarak, a community member organizations shows that damage assessment is not of Ban Thab Tawan, expressing his concerns over a accurate (IOM et al. 2005). ban by an entrepreneur, who claimed to have legal Within the marginalized groups of fisherfolk, ownership of the land of Ban Thab Tawan village. migrant workers and ethnic groups, there are also The entrepreneur has banned the community from vulnerable people, particularly women and children. entering the area where they used to keep their craft. A report from the Ministry of Social Development Based on the data collected by Community and Human Security found that there are more than Organizations Development Institute, which is a semi- 1,000 children who have lost one or both parents, government NGO, it was found that 81 fishing while data on the number of women who died or communities do not have land tenure security. The become widows because of the tsunami is not available province-wise break-up of such communities is: Phang to the public. Nga 14 villages, Ranong 6 villages, Krabi 13 villages, Phuket 12 villages, Satun 23 villages, and Trang 15 ishing Communities and Land Conflict villages. Issues Land and housing are basic necessities for all families. Housing Issues In the case of the fishing communities that live next to The tsunami completely destroyed 3,032 houses in the the sea and engage in fisheries, especially the small- six provinces, many of them belonging to small-scale scale fisherfolk, land and houses close to the sea is as fisherfolk, resulting in homelessness. In response, the important as having fishing craft. Because of this, the government provided assistance in constructing small-scale fisherfolk are commonly found to build temporary shelters, and also rolled out a plan for their settlement on the beach near the sea, where they building permanent housing in a new location away can guard their craft closely during storms and in the from the sea, close to the main roads. The new

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permanent housing scheme near the main road seems tsunami, the Ministry of Social Development and to be a good scheme, but for the small-scale fisherfolk Human Security coordinated with the Royal Thai Army the idea of living away from the sea is like a second of Thailand in constructing temporary shelters for the blow following the tsunami. affected communities of 933 units in three provinces, Temporary shelter and permanent houses: After the namely Phang Nga, Ranong and Krabi Province. Table tsunami, it was found that many houses along the beach 9 provides location and number of temporary units and seashore were destroyed and damaged. Data in each target province. from the DDPM on the 25 July, 2006 reported that With respect to assistance for permanent housing, 418 villages comprising 12,815 families were affected there are many government agencies involved in this by the tsunami, 4,896 houses were destroyed (3,302 kind of intervention. These are the Ministry of houses completely damaged, 1,504 partially damaged). Defence, Department of public works and Town & If compared with the data from the Community Country Planning (Ministry of Interior) and the Organizations Development Institute, it was found National Housing Authority all of which function that of these 418 villages, 43 villages were severely hit. under the guidelines and measures identified by the Most of these villages are fishing villages or engaged Ministry of Social Development and Human Security. in fisheries as well as tourism activities. As well as being The government took measures towards provision hard hit, they are also villages that experience land of temporary and permanent housing for the tsunami- conflict problems because they are located on public affected communities by constructing pre-designed land. houses in a new area. The total budget for a house is In trying to provide housing for the tsunami- 100,000 THB, but there are reports of houses that do affected communities, it was found that many of the not meet the natural, cultural and family needs, and communities have not been able to return to their are too small. or the people that do not wish to live original settlement and while others are able to. This is in the houses that the government designs and builds, associate to the land ownership of each household in they are given 30,000 THB to construct their own house a particular community and also a determination of with a design that they prefer. (Ministry of Social the community to remain in the same area. Table 8 Development and Human Security 2005, website of provides an overview of number of fishing villages the Tsunami Help & Recovery Information System or communities that have not been relocated and the (THRI) of the Office of the Permanent Secretary at others that are forced to. http://203.170.239.222/tsunami/index, 9 January, In regards to assistance on temporary shelters for 2005). The outcome of such assistance in six provinces communities whose houses were destroyed by the is summarized in Table 10.

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Since there were a number of agencies responsible Land Disputes for constructing new permanent houses, there are many While studying the work of providing temporary and different models of houses used. or instance, houses permanent shelters, it was found that many built by the Royal Thai Airforce are tall houses, raised communities face problems in that they are unable to above the ground with a stair on the side. There is a return to their old areas because of problems of land small room on the ground floor, which some families conflicts. This is a problem that was found even before convert into a kitchen and a toilet. There are two the tsunami. However, the tsunami has put the spotlight rooms upstairs, which families normally used as on these issues because in some cases the conflicts have bedrooms. These houses are usually found in Ranong worsened. Many of the communities are fishing Province in Tab Nuer Village and Prapad Beach. communities who have depended on marine resources The houses built by the Royal Thai Army are one- and access to the sea for many generations. The storeyed houses with 2 rooms and are normally found occupants around the area include the sea gypsies, in Phang Nga Province. Another style of the house is Mokens, Uraklawoi, Thai-Muslims, and Thai the Moken house, which is a house raised above the Buddhists. These people have been living on their land ground, with walls of wood and a balcony. The space without any land entitlement documents because it is underneath the house is left empty. These houses are public land supervised by many government agencies. normally found in Pakarang Pennisula and other Some of the lands are owned by private landowners, affected areas in Phang Nga province. while some areas have land entitlement document At the present time, these different agencies are issued through improper means. The study of the increasingly building similar models of houses. Community Organizations Development Institute Discussions with NGOs, communities and (CODI) reveals that there are 81 villages with insecure academicians reveal that the government built houses land ownership. Details are given in Table 11. without prior consultation with the intended occupants, The characteristics of the conflict and dispute can and did not study the livelihood patterns of the local be divided into two categories. These are private sector communities before undertaking the construction. The vs. communities conflicts, and conflicts between the government houses were usually pre-designed and not government and communities. The nature of the based on communities’ livelihood patterns. problems can be described as follow: urthermore, the government did not allow people to participate in the design and planning. However, A) Conflicts between the private sector and the advantage of this kind of housing was that it could communities: The number of areas facing this be constructed quickly and it was easy to calculate the type of conflict is quite low. The majority of required budget. owners in the conflict areas normally have land

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entitlement documents that have been issued in further away from the sea. This pattern can be accordance with the land legislation, but the seen in the case of Ban Lame Ma Karm, communities have encroached and settled in Tambon Kao Mai Kaew and Ampur Sikao in those areas, knowingly or unknowingly. After Trang Province. When land conflicts between the tsunami, the landowners have been making two private parties arise, both parties normally ownership claims, resulting in disputes. This is a seek advice from legal counsellors and get into long-standing problem that has remained litigation to solve the conflict. Because of this, unsolved; it originated even before the tsunami, there is a lot of litigation, which often drags on as in the cases of Lam Pom and Ampur Trakua for years, before a final verdict can be reached. Par in Phang Nga Province. At the same time, B) Conflicts between the government and there are some communities that were not communities: There is a problem of lack of aware that the land occupied by them has an clarity on the boundaries of government land overlapping ownership with private use, resulting in confusion regarding the status landowners. They only discovered this when of land ownership. It is commonly found that they finally returned to their villages, as in the government agencies that deal with natural case of Ban Thab Tawan, Tambon Bang Muang resource management have leased the rights to and Ampur Trakua Por in Phang Nga Province. the land to the private sector—for instance, in In some cases, private owners have claimed the national reserved forest overseen by the ownership and tried to remove people from Department of orests; mangrove areas the land, as in the case of Rawai Village in Rawai overseen by the Department of Coastal and sub-district in Phuket Province. Additionally, Marine Resources; national parks overseen by there are communities which did not legally own the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and land and were leasing the land of from private lora; and the harbour area overseen by the landowners or friends/relatives for establishing Department of Sea Transportation and their settlements. But after the tsunami, the Commercial Navigation, the marine area landowner no longer wishes to lease the land overseen by the Royal Thai Navy and state to the tenants. This might also be because the properties run and managed by the Treasury tenants do not want to live along the coast due Department. The usual adversaries in conflicts to fear of possible tsunamis in the future, with these government agencies are the coupled with a wish to build a new home communities which have settlements or villages

122 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Thailand Country Report Vessels and Fishing Gear) who Received Assistance from DOF (as on 26 December 2005) and Fishing Gear) who Received Assistance from Vessels Table 12: Number of Tsunami-affected Individuals in the Fisheries Sector (Damages to Aquaculture, Fishing Individuals in the Fisheries Sector (Damages to Aquaculture, 12: Number of Tsunami-affected Table

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along the coast, especially the small-scale which were unable to return and construct new fisherfolk. In many cases, the communities have permanent housing in Thung Wa village, Thap Tawan been settled for a long time without any land Community, Nai Rai village, Lam Pom community entitlement documents. The tsunami has of Nam Kem Village in Phang Nga Province. The become an opportunity for the concerned communities had put forward a proposal that there government agencies to put an end to the should be participatory land rights verification, problem. One of the actions undertaken by the especially in cases where the land ownership and the government while the communities were land title document overlaps. In the case of the sheltered in the temporary camps was to ‘fence government land and public land, the official body is off’ the communities from being able to return the ‘Sub-Committee on Land Conflict Resolutions in to their villages. This action, instead of 6 Tsunami-Affected Provinces’ (CODI 2005), which addressing the problem, aggravated the intensity is headed by General Surin Pikunthing, Chairperson, of the conflict between the government and since 2 March, 2005, and supervised by General the community, as seen in the cases of conflict Chaowalit Yongchaiyot. This sub-committee was set in the National Park areas, e.g.,in Kor Muk up by the government to address problems of land Village in Kor Libong sub-district and Kantang conflict. district in Trang Province. There are cases where The sub-committee has managed to resolve 13 communities have been settled in the area for a cases, covering 1,156 families,7 by issuing land title long time, but lack tangible and official proof documents to lands that was not included during the of this, as in the case of Thung Wa Village in land survey and those that have been purchased to Kuk Kak sub-district and Trakuapar district in establish a new community, certifying the rights to settle Phang Nga Province. There is evidence of in the same area, and allocating public land for overlapping of land ownership between the settlement. private and government sector. or example, There are 3 cases where the sub-committee has the community has a land entitlement document already identified the resolution approach, but the that belongs to another private landowner who process is still on. These are land conflict cases between does not live on that land. At the same time, a the private sector and communities in Lame Pom, Ban reserved forest might be declared on that very Nai Rai and Ban Thap Tawan in Phang Nga Province. land (e.g., Lame Sai village, Kao Mai Kaew sub- Additionally, there is still a case in Phi Phi island, where district and Si Kao district in Trang Province). the land use plan has not been finalized, and 11 cases The government also promotes different kinds in Satun Province where the sub-committee has agreed of land use in accordance with government with the resolution approach and is in the process of policy. or example, the promotion of tourism organizing meetings with different relevant sectors. development along the coastal areas and island While old cases have not been resolved, 12 new groups resulted in an eviction of the community conflict cases have been reported in Krabi Province from these areas. Often, the government and in 12 villages in Phuket. The conflicts relate to regulates land use to facilitate tourism cases where reserved forest/national parks overlap development without considering if the change the community’s settlements and farming land, and would suit the livelihood pattern of the local conflicts between private parties. communities. This is seen in Klong Pak Bang Nonetheless, the support of the sub-committee Village and Patong Beach in Phuket province, in addressing land conflict is possible only to a certain and Phi Phi Island in Aow Nang sub-district, extent, because many of the cases were between private Muang district, Krabi Province. sector parties and communities. Therefore, they require a formal legal process, which is extremely slow. At the Addressing Land Conflict Problems and same time, it has also been found that the communities Settlement in Tsunami-affected Areas have been mobilizing themselves strongly, and have The process for addressing land conflict over the past conducted many demonstrations to fight for their 12 months was initiated by the affected communities rights to land.

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Land Conflict Case Studies: The Livelihood of community is Muslim, with some Buddhists and ethnic Small-Scale ishing Communities and Coastal groups. Settlements: The Case of Hua Lame Village, Kor After the tsunami struck, 41 houses in Klang Gulf Lanta Yai sub-district, Kor Lanta Province , Krabi were destroyed, while 86 houses were partially Province damaged in the other two gulfs. A total of 75 craft Hua Lame Village is located in Kor Lanta Yai sub- were destroyed. The District Office offered to provide district, Kor Lanta district in Krabi Province. It has permanent houses in another location, Lanta School 203 households and a total population of 941 people (old), for the affected community members. Here, (447 male and 494 female) (Krabi Health Office, 2004). either the Royal Thai Navy would be the key body in 98 per cent of the population is Muslim and the rest is charge of house construction or the community could Buddhist. 90 per cent of the total population is engaged build their permanent houses on this same land with in small-scale fisheries, while the rest are hired workers clear land title deeds with Royal Thai Navy support. on craft and rubber plantations and also work in The community wished to remain in the same bungalows and resorts as well as staff of shopping area. However, this was objected to by the District centres and shops in Lanta Yai Island. Officer, claiming that the area must be preserved for The community is located on the beach area, which the sake of safety and to improve the scenery for belongs to the Department of Harbour. The village is tourism development under the policy of beach land a typical fishing village where each house is occupied use regulation. The objections became more by a large family with shared households. The prominent when a signpost, stating ‘No Infrastructure households are scattered along the coast and have been or House Construction Allowed in this Area’ was put there for more than 100 years. Around 500–600 years up. The community was informed that they had to ago, the pioneer community that occupied this area move out and relocate to the new permanent houses was the Urak Lawois, the sea gypsies, who were the provided for them. Despite the availability of new first group of people to migrate into Lanta Island houses, the community did not wish to be relocated after emigrating from the Saiburi. They occupied the because the new location is next to the Kor Lanta southern peninsula, which is known as Hua Lame Temple and very close to the cemetery, which is Village and Sang Ga U Village today. contrary to the religion and culture of the Muslims. The houses in Hua Lame Village can be found They were very upset and claimed that the government strung out over a long stretch of 3 km, which is divided does not understand or value of their needs. It into 3 small gulfs. The first is known as Klang Gulf or appeared that the government could move them Hua Lame 1. The northern section of Hua Lame 1 is wherever it desired, despite clear objections from the in the direction of Sriraya market and Kor Lanta Yai community. The government intervention had lacked municipality, the southern section is near rocks and people’s participation, failing to take into account the forests, with the eastern side towards the sea and the actual needs of the victims and whether the new area western side slightly elevated to a height of 5 m. The is appropriate. Another problem lies in the relocating community is located 100 m away from the main road. the community away from the sea, which is completely The second gulf is called Hua Lame 2 Gulf, 1 km contrary to the livelihood pattern of the small-scale away from the Klang Gulf. The community’s fisherfolk. The small-scale fisherfolk need to be near households are located along a stretch of 500 m. The the sea to be able to guard their fishing craft, fishing northern-southern section is comprised mostly of gear and engines. In a location faraway from the sea, orchards and rocks, the eastern section is adjacent to the community would find it very difficult to look the sea and on the west is another pocket of orchards. after their property, and would require them to walk The area is 200 m away from the main road. The a long distance with their gear. urthermore, during majority of the community is Thai-Muslim, while there storms and strong winds, the community has to are some Buddhist and ethnic groups. The third gulf constantly come in the night to check if their craft are is Muta Gulf or Hua Lame 3, located 2 km away safe. If the houses are located very far from the sea, it from Hua Lame Gulf 2. It is located 200 m away would be very difficult for the fisherfolk to determine from the main road. Here too the majority of the the strength of the wind, and hence they would not

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be able to determine the risk to their fishing craft. to own individual fishing craft for every family. Each Mr. Hat Thipbanjong. the community leader of Hua time they would go fishing, many families would go Lame Village, says, ‘The fishing community demands that out to the sea together. Some of the Moken they be allowed to remain on the same land. Our lives have community members have no identity cards. always been lived close to the sea. If the boat is here and we are Mr. Nuai Nawarak of Thap Tawan community there, we would feel absolutely miserable. The boat must be kept confirmed that the community migrated into the area near the house so that we can look after it.’ 60–70 years ago. The community of Thap Tawan has The community wished to build houses along the been facing problems with securing their settlement in seashore and submitted a letter to the Vice-Minister the same area after the tsunami. One week after the of the Ministry of Interior, Mr. Sutham Sangpathum, tsunami struck, the community went back to their area on 20 January, 2005. This led to negotiations between only to find out that their land has been claimed by a the community representatives and the district officer private landowner who also claimed that he is the legal of Kor Lanta Yai and the committee on Permanent owner of the land, and had tried to demarcate the Housing Construction of Kor Lanta district, at the area many times. The community strongly objects to district office. The second meeting took place on 24 such claims, resulting in a delay in the demarcation January, 2005 at the district office. The current process and a delay in obtaining land title deed resolution is to allow the community to build new document. This has become a classic case of land houses on the same land and for the community to dispute that has not been resolved until today. The accept a compensation of 30,000 THB per family. private landowner has filed a lawsuit against the Indeed, this amount of money is not sufficient to build community in the hope that the legal process would a decent house to live in. However, the Save Andaman evict the community, which has, with the support of Network (SAN) together with Community many public, organizations already proceeded to Organizations Development Institute (CODI), came rebuild houses after the tsunami. Today, community and tried to understand the community’s concerns and members to have attend a court hearing, even if a problems before providing additional support for the community member is 81 years old (field study on 26 community to be able to build houses and ebruary, 2006) infrastructure. At the current stage, the organizations At the present time, the community has been are working with the community on occupational threatened through various means, such as taking photos development. of the community and the house construction process as evidence for a lawsuit. urthermore, the foreign Land Conflict Case Study: Community’s Rights volunteers who have been working in the village to vs Private Sector Rights help the community in building houses have also been Thap Tawan Community, Moo 7 is located in Bang threatened. Sewbee Leesakul, 52, community member Muang sub-district, Tra Kua Par district in Phang Nga of the community says, ‘After the tsunami, there was a province. It is a sea gypsy village, comprised of Moken woman and some official staff who came to the village to conduct gypsies who had emigrated into the area 100 years land demarcation. The women told us that she was the landowner, ago. The traditional livelihood of the Moken is small- but we really have not seen her before.’ scale fisheries, hence they are greatly dependent on the Before the tsunami, part of the community was sea. During the last few years, the base of the Moken’s engaged in fishing and some of the others were hired livelihood has been transformed from sustaining their workers on fishing craft and construction sites. During livelihood from fisheries to becoming hired labour earlier times, the community members used to be around the locality. employed in mining sites; when that activity ceased, The community of Thap Tawan has been affected the community members went back to fisheries, by the tsunami, which had claimed all their houses and farming and raising livestock. Over the past 10 years, properties. In all, 74 houses were washed away. In their engagement in farming and raising livestock has Thap Thawa, the tsunami claimed 25 lives from 130 been declining because the land is no longer as fertile families and 14 craft were destroyed. Because the as it used to be, resulting in low output and income. Moken community is poor, the Moken were unable Because of this, many community members began to

126 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Thailand Country Report work as hired labourers, while consistently remaining Two approaches for addressing the problems were engaged in small-scale fisheries. identified. irst, they could engage in a lawsuit. This Moreover, the Mokens in Thap Tawan community option would require a tremendous amount of have also been facing problems in using the old mining evidence to prove that the community has been there site that is located adjacent to the village for keeping for more than 100 years. The chances of winning the their craft. This area is located in the mangroves. It is case are 50:50. The second approach is to negotiate commonly known that before the tsunami, this area with the landowner, which means that the community was a public land that the community has been using would have to surrender by reducing their occupied on to keep their craft for more than 60 years. However, area from 24 rai to about 7 rai. So far, the community after the tsunami, unknown entrepreneurs came and has refused to accept this arrangement. They insist that claimed ownership of the area, erecting signposts to they would need 24 rai, which is the area they are restrict the community from entering the area where occupying at the present time. The community says the community kept their craft. They brought a number that each family is large, and if the land area is reduced, of large cement pipes to obstruct the community from as proposed by the director of the Department of entering and leaving the area. They have threatened Land Development, the next generation would have that if this is not complied with, they would be not enough land to live on. prosecuted. The case of Thap Tawan community shows that advice from other organizations, particularly the Land Conflict Case Study: The Community NHRC, is not being used as a tool for resolving the Response in Addressing the Land Conflict Issue conflict. This is because the NHRC does not have legal Thap Tawan community has submitted complaints to powers and because the nature of the conflict is the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and between two private parties. Therefore, the matter must highlighted their legitimate right to construct houses be left to the legal system, which will give the final on the same land that they have lived on for many verdict. years. The Commission has conducted data verification on housing and settlements and the old mining area Land Conflict Case Study: Urban Growth at the where they used to keep craft. rom this verification, Expense of Marginalized People which included research and recording the testimony ‘I grew up here and have lived here for many years. After the of witnesses, as well as satellite imagery, the tsunami, the Municipality announced that we cannot go back to Commission confirmed that the Moken community our homes and banned us from constructing anything there. It is of Thab Tawan has been settled in the area for many good that the ITV company came to help us out. The District decades. They received official house registration in Officer and the Mayor have been very helpful by allowing ITV 1980, and some of them obtained these documents to come and help us. Because of this, the Mayor was reported by in 1992. the Patong Municipality office, saying that the Mayor has no Even though the rights of the Moken community rights to make any approval who can come to help and where. to remain on the same land has been reinforced by They also threatened the community by using tractors, firing the work of the NHRC, the person who claimed guns and publishing a letter and distributing it to the public, ownership rights denied this fact and decided to put stating that ‘there is no community on Patong’. I personally forward a proposal to 47 families from the community think that because the area is next to the sea, it is in high to reduce their settlement and farming area from 24 demand. We have 16 families in the community who are small- rai to about 7 rai. If this proposal is not accepted, he scale fisherfolks. We are a group of people that urban society would pursue a lawsuit against the community. Mr. does not want” – Mrs. Nisachol Wandee, community Peerapon Traitasawit, the director of the Department member of Klong Pak Bang Community, Tambon of Land Development and a representative of the Patong, Ampur Kathu, Phuket Province Committee on Land Conflict Resolution, came to the The land conflict issue in Klong Pak Bang is a village together with a team to conduct a meeting with conflict between the community and the municipality the community to try to find some solution to the of Patong. The community has been trying to address conflict between the community and the landowner. the problem by tapping into the official mechanism

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that has been set up to address land conflict problems, cutting straight through to the beach area. rom the and independent organizations such as the National TAO’s point of view, this project could not happen Human Rights Commission. The community has been because the community was settled there. able to receive new houses from a private sector The community sent an appeal to the NHRC to company, ITV. However, they have no land security come and help resolve the conflict and verify the in the form of clear land entitlement, because there is community’s right to build in the same area. When the no official acceptance of the community’s rights from government set up the Committee for Land Conflict the official agencies that are involved in this case. Resolution in the Tsunami-Affected Provinces, the The community of Klong Pak Bang, Patong community brought this burning issue to the Beach,Kratu district in Phuket Province is a small fishing committee which had come to review the case. The village of 16 families. There are 52 people living here, Committee concluded that the community can build all of them inter-related. After the tsunami, 16 houses houses in the same area where they used to live, as of the community were completely destroyed, along approved by the Land Law, Article 9, under a with craft that were left completely and partially community village plan that takes into account damaged. During the first few months after the environmental protection and improvement of scenery tsunami, when the community’s houses had been for tourism purposes. washed away by the giant wave, the Patong The community has built 16 houses through the Municipality took the opportunity to evict the support of ITV. All construction is completed and community out of the area. Nonetheless, the the houses are already occupied. The community has community remains firm that they need to stay there. returned back to their livelihood. The small-scale fisherfolk in Klong Pak Bang community have been settled in the area for the last Land Conflict Case Study: Moken’s Settlement 50 years. Being small-scale fisherfolk, a large Issues: A Joint Collaboration between proportion of their time was dedicated to work in Government and Private Sector in Addressing the sea. The housing materials that were used for Problems of the Marginalized building houses were simple and could be easily found Mr. Hong Klathalay, a Moken from Thung Wa Village, in the local area. told us that the Moken in Thung Wa village has been During the last 30 years, the expansion of tourism there for the last 100 years without any land entitlement has led to encroachments on Patong Beach. These documents. If they were asked to move out, it would include housing, shops and recreation centres to serve be extremely difficult. ‘How can you expect us to get up tourists. The community of Klong Pak Bang has and leave. All our ancestors are buried at the back of this therefore moved away from the beach and resettled community. Before they passed away, they insisted that we not in another public area on the bank of a canal that leave them; and if we must go, then we must take them with us. enters into the sea. This was also the place where they Although this cannot be proved, but it is something that we feel originally kept their craft. The livelihood of the in our spirit.’ community of Ban Pak Bang continues as usual amid The Moken of Thung Wa were the pioneer settlers the buzz of city life and tourism development on in Thung Wa village, Moo 5 is located in Kuk Kak Patong Beach. sub-district, Trakuapar district, Phang Nga Province. Even before the tsunami, the settlement of the They came 100 years ago and the initial number of Klong Pak Bang community was the subject of a great households was only 30–40. They relied on the sea, deal of a discussion between the Tambon creeks and swamps for food, and then shifted to work Administrative Organizations (TAO) and many other as hired labour in the local areas. relevant agencies. This is because there was an opinion Before the tsunami struck, there were 64 that the community should not settle there, claiming households of the Moken people in Thung Wa village, that the area should be used for basic amenities and living together with another 7 Buddhist households. infrastructure as well as making space for building There are 327 people who have been occupying and roads. The plan was to construct a ring road around building their houses on the public land of 26 rai, which Patong Beach and a road to link the outer ring road, is an area overseen by the TAO of Kuk Kak. The

128 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Thailand Country Report tsunami destroyed many houses, killed 42 people, left approach the government for assistance. However, 50 injured and damaged 18 craft. The 285 survivors once the community began to mobilize themselves have now been relocated to the temporary shelter at and come up with a clear statement of what they truly Thun Kamin Village, located near the Child want, support from different sectors, including the Development Centre and the TAO of Kuk Kak. government and the private sector and the During the time they were sheltered in the government’s mechanism for resolving conflicts, can temporary camps, many organizations came to discuss be mobilized. All these factors contribute to a more about designing new houses and developing the village productive outcome to the conflicts. This is a best plan for Thung Wa village. In this process, there was practice case study that reflects people’s participation coordination between various organizations in order in community planning to promote community self- to organize a planning process, including the design governance, and collaboration between many sectors of houses with the support of architects. However, in addressing problems. after the construction took place, the Community Development and Social Security Office of Phang Relief and Rehabilitation Measures for Nga province sent a letter stating that all construction Tsunami-affected ishing Communities must be terminated. It gave a reason that the TAO Department of isheries and Relief Intervention needs to use that particular piece of land for building for Tsunami-affected ishing Communities: a hospital with the support of the German Immediate Relief government. The letter has as its subject, ‘Construction In delivering immediate assistance to the affected Site for Hospital through the Support of German fisherfolk, the DO acting as a key institution Government (Donation)’. distributing aid to the affected communities. The DO The community organized a series of meetings therefore set out guidelines and enacted a relief policy, to discuss the incident and concluded that they would covering both short-term and long-term measures to remain on the very same land, despite a fear that they revive the affected communities and improve natural would not be allowed to construct new houses on the resource management. According to the report of the same land. Later, the CODI compiled information Joint AO/MOAC, Detailed Technical Damages and Needs together with the community, and brought the Assessment Mission in isheries and Agriculture Sectors in problems of land conflict before the Sub Committee Six Tsunami-Affected Provinces in Thailand, the first steps on Land Conflict Resolution in 6 Tsunami-Affected of the assistance plan were immediately carried out Provinces to seek a solution. rom the meetings and by the DO, which established the isheries Rescue the consultation with the committee, it was concluded Coordination Center at the Marine ishery Research that the solution is to help the Moken community build and Development Bureau in Phuket province, in order houses on the same land by allocating 16 rai to be to collect all relevant data pertaining to the damaged occupied and 10 rai land to be earmarked for fisheries and to rescue the affected people and craft in communal purposes. It was also decided to carry on executing the community development plan the six provinces. The DO team comprised all DO formulated earlier. Additionally, the team also facilities and staff in those six provinces, supported coordinated with the government sector in trying to by staff from headquarters. The mission basically arrange basic amenities such as drinking water, electricity involved 20 fisheries patrol craft, the Mahidol Research and roads. Vessel and the MV SEADEC Research Vessel, both The process for addressing land conflict as seen of which managed to rescue 1,548 victims, 517 dead in Thung Wa village is an interesting example of how bodies, 189 fishing craft, 2,190 fish cages, 150 units collaboration between the private sector and the of fishing gear and 43 engines. The Rescue Center government sector can bring about change. The also provided 3,636 first-aid kits and food to the victims problem is made worse when the affected community (Source: AO and MOAC, ebruary, 2005). is not only a traditional fisherfolk community, but is The DO, under the Ministry of Agriculture and seen as a minority group and as outsiders (not Thai). Co-operatives (MOAC), has appointed an official from Therefore, when they have problems they fear to the Government to chair the Sub-Committee of

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Tsunami Relief in isheries Sector. A total budget of granted according to the actual damages, but 821,082,500 THB was approved from the not more than 20,000 THB per boat. Government’s Tsunami und and the Central und 3. In case the fishing boat is lost or damaged during the Cabinet Meeting, which was presented in beyond repair, a grant will be given according the Cabinet Resolution on 11 January, 2005 (Source: to the actual damages, but not more than 66,000 Permanent Secretary Office under the Ministerial baht per boat. Office) to provide relief assistance to the fisherfolk or a fishing boat whose total length is more than 10 affected by the tsunami. The DO released the official m long, assistance will be given as follows: relief order, identified qualification criteria, procedures, 1. In case the fishing boat is damaged, repair methodologies and compensation to be distributed expenses of the boat and its equipment will be to the affected fisherfolk, especially on repairing fishing granted according to the actual damages, but craft, engines, engine parts and fishing gear such as not more than 70,000 THB per boat. nets, traps. The relief approach also includes boatyards, 2. In case the fishing boat is salvaged or towed in fishing craft repairing services, providing seed funds for repairs, expenses for salvaging or towing for establishing community’s fish landing markets, as will be granted according to the actual damages, well as repairing dockyards that have been damaged but not more than 25,000 THB per boat; repair by the tsunami. Additionally, the DO is also expenses of the boat and its equipment will be responsible for compensating for market-related granted according to the actual damages, but equipment such as buckets and refrigerators for the not more than 70,000 THB per boat. 3. In case the fishing boat is lost or damaged pier. In the medium term, it aims to provide support beyond repair, a grant will be given according and promote mariculture operations such as breeding to the actual damages, but not more than farms and fish farming along with necessary equipment 200,000 baht per boat. that might be required for such activities. In the case of an owner of fishing tools that were Department of isheries’ Relief Measures damaged, a grant will be given according to actual The DO will provide relief assistance to fish farmers damages, but not more than 10,000 THB. An and fishermen upto an amount of not more than assessment of the actual damages of a fish farmer 20,000 THB. It has set a rule for identifying the target and an owner of a fishing craft in items (1), (2), and beneficiaries by verifying previous farming registration (3) shall be left to the discretion of the District belonging to fish farmers and fishing craft registration Committee to Assist Disaster-affected Victims, or the recorded at the DO provincial offices. The Quasi-District Committee to Assist Disaster-affected compensation would be given to the fishing craft Victims, or the Provincial Committee to Assist owner, who defined as fishermen according to the Disaster-affected Victims, respectively. Regulation of the isheries Department on The To apply for a grant, a fish farmer is required to Compensation for and Rehabilitation of the Tsunami-Affected submit his/her application to the provincial or district isheries in Six Southern Provinces B.E. 2548 (2005) and fisheries offices located in the tsunami-hit area, together the compensation rates are as follows: with the following documents: 1. or a fishing craft whose total length is not more (1) Copies of his/her ID card and house than 10 m, assistance will be given in case the registration, or a copy of the substitute fishing craft damaged. Expenses for repair of document issued by the authorities; the craft and its equipment will be granted (2) Copy of a death certificate, or a copy of an according to the actual damages, but not more official document certifying as dead/missing than 20,000 THB per boat. person in the case that the application is 2. In case the fishing craft is salvaged or towed in submitted by the heir; for repairs, expenses for the salvaging or towing (3) Copies of the heir’s ID card and house will be granted according to the actual damages, registration, or copies of the substitute but not more than 10,000 THB per boat; repair documents issued by the authorities in the case expenses of the boat and its equipment will be that the application is submitted by the heir.

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To apply for a grant, an owner of a fishing boat (2) Being a person who informed the authorities or his/her heir is required to submit his/her application of his/her damages caused by the tsunami to the provincial or district fisheries office located in disaster within 30 days from the date of its the tsunami-hit area, with the following documents: occurrence; (1) Copy of the Thai registration; (3) Being a fish farmer or a fisherman who the (2) Copy of a valid licence for fisheries while facing District Committee to Assist Disaster-affected the disaster, in the case that a license is required Victims, or the Quasi-District Committee to by the laws on fisheries; Assist Disaster-affected Victims, or the (3) In the case that the document under (1) or (2) is Provincial Committee to Assist Disaster- not available, a certificate issued by the provincial affected Victims, respectively, has verified and fisheries officer and another certificate issued applied to the provincial governor for either by a fishing association or group, or by a immediate assistance in the presence of an member of a fishing co-operative or service emergency. In the case that a fish farmer or a co-operative to which the fishing boat owner farmer is dead or lost, his/her heir is entitled to belongs, or by a sub-district headman of the receive the assistance. In the case that an eligible tsunami-hit area, verifying that the fishing craft grantee thinks that his/her damages are greater has been damaged or lost, one way or another, than the grant received, he/she shall be entitled while fishing, shall be attached. to receive the grant according to this Regulation (4) Copies of his/her ID card and house for the time being. or the deficient amount, a registration, or copies of the substitute committee of not more than seven persons— documents issued by the authorities; consisting of the provincial governor as its (5) In case the heir of boat owner is making a claim, chairperson and other concerned government copy of a death certificate, or a copy of an officers—shall be set up to consider if the official document certifying as lost person in victim is entitled to further grants and the the case that the application is submitted by the amount to be given. The committee’s decision heir; shall be presented via the provincial authority (6) Copies of the heir’s ID card and house to the Steering Committee on the Provision of registration, or copies of the substitute Assistance to the Tsunami Victims in Six documents issued by the authorities in the case Southern Provinces for reconsideration. that the application is submitted by the heir. (Source: Regulation of the isheries Department (7) Copy of the local police blotter recording the on The Compensation for and Rehabilitation damage or the loss of the fishing craft. of the Tsunami-affected isheries in Six In approving compensation to claimants, the Southern Provinces B.E. 2548 (2005) Department specifically identifies that it will only With respect to long-term occupational rehabilitation, approve a compensation only to ‘“fisherman”, meaning the DO has identified medium- and long-term owner of a fishing craft or an owner of a fishing tool, as the case policies with an emphasis on strengthening the capacity may be; and “fishing craft” meaning a craft used for fishing, of fishermen. This includes providing training on which is registered as a fishing craft by the isheries Department, disaster prevention and sea safety through the use of and shall also mean a craft of any other person who uses the radio communications and escape routes, providing craft (apart from the owner).’ urthermore, eligible training on boat repairing, improvement of financial claimants should meet the following conditions: management skills for administering community (1) Being a fish farmer listed in the provincial revolving funds, providing training on alternative registration of aquaculture farmers, or a activities such as mariculture operations, livelihood fisherman who owns a fishing boat, which is rehabilitation planning, etc. Human resource registered with the isheries Department, or development training will also be given to DO staff, other earner who uses a boat as vehicle to earn especially on toxicology analysis to address concerns his/her living; on food safety and food standards that might influence

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that price of seafood, training of trainers (DO’s staff Ministry of Defence and other agencies such and representative from the local government unit such as local administrative organizations or as the TAO) on disaster management, participatory interested parties in the private sector, at the planning and participatory coastal resource rate of 100,000 THB per house. The victims, management or responsible coastal resource who want government agencies to build a house management and aquaculture. at the price of 100,000 THB, must waive the right to receive 30,000 THB as compensation Relief Measures in Other Areas for damage to the house, as prescribed by the Aside from providing compensation for damaged 2003 regulations of the inance Ministry. craft, fishing gear and engines in accordance with the The provision of temporary shelter and criteria described above, the members of fishing accommodation will be done in co-operation with communities affected by the tsunami would be the army in two provinces: compensated in other areas according to the measures • In Phang Nga province, four temporary identified by other government departments: shelters are to be built at Bang Muang and • Department of Local Administration, Ministry Khuek Khak Tambon Administration of Interior Organization areas, as well as at Pak Weep • Ministry of Health village school and Khura Buri district. • Office of Permanent Secretary of Prime • In Krabi province, 100 temporary shelters are Ministry’s Office to be constructed in Muang and Lanta districts. • Office of Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Labour 3. Basic necessities such as medicine and • Office of Permanent Secretary of the Ministry occupational equipment to be distributed by of Social Development and Human Security the Department of Disaster Prevention and • Tambon Administrative Organizations (TAO) Mitigation in accordance with the following • Department of Marine and Coastal Resources compensation rate: These government departments have identified the • Occupational 10,000 THB/family following relief measures: equipment 1. Support for funerals to families that have lost • Kitchenware 3,500 THB/family family members, or payment of compensation • Daily necessity goods 300 THB/family in cases where the body was not found. The • Clothes 1,000 THB/person compensation rate is as follows: • School uniforms 1,000 THB/person a) uneral: 20,000 THB/person • Bedding 500 THB/person b) Death (head of household): 40,000 THB/ 4. Compensation for students affected by the person tsunami, given by the Ministry of Education, c) Immediate compensation for injuries Permanent Secretary Office of Education, (severe): 3,000 THB/person based on the following rate: d) Immediate compensation for injuries • Students who have lost both parents: 25,000 (disability): 10,000 THB/person THB/person e) Immediate compensation for injuries • Students who have been affected: 15,000 (minor): 2,000 THB/person THB/person f) Immediate compensation for the unemployed: 2,000 THB/person; the Roles of Public Organizations in Providing Ministry of Labour also provides unemployment benefit of 175 THB/day/ Relief to Tsunami-affected Victims in person over a period of 30 days isheries Sector 2. The provision of permanent housing for the There are a large number of local, national and victims is to be undertaken by the Ministry of international public organizations that have been Social Development and Human Security, working in the affected villages. The implementation

132 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Thailand Country Report approach of each organization is diverse in terms of Patronage of the Queen), the our Regions Slum concepts and philosophies, in accordance with the Network, Network of Migrant Workers, etc. The objectives and nature of work undertaken by each national public organizations that provide support on organization. Additionally, there are volunteers who long-term rehabilitation in fisheries work closely with are private individuals from among the public. the government, e.g., Chaipattana oundation, Red The work approach of the public organization Cross, Lotary Association, etc, while international and the volunteers at the early stage emphasized on public organizations that work closely with the fishing providing immediate relief and resolving immediate communities and provide support on fisheries-related problems, such as distributing basic goods like occupational development and natural resources medicines, food and daily necessities to the tsunami- includes the Maltesers, Action Aid, ARC International, affected victims. The approach and working methods Save the Children and many others. Apart from this, of each organization was different. Some there are international public organizations that work organizations work directly in the communities, through the national public organizations. These include providing assistance on an individual basis; some work Oxfam, Direct Relief International, Global Giving through the Tambon Administrative Organizations; oundation, Heinrich Böll oundation and others. some work in collaboration with the government Apart from the public organizations, there are agencies; some work directly with the community with volunteers, youth from schools and universities in an aim to mobilize communities to establish local Thailand, and students and undergraduates who were mechanisms and relief management systems so that interested in working in the form of volunteers and they can identify their own requirements and manage participating in many community-based activities. relief assistance, so as to prevent duplication and During the first three months, the number of unequal distribution of relief. Some agencies plays an volunteers and public organizations working in the important role in coordination, while the others affected areas was enormous. The atmosphere during provide support to local organizations, so that they those times clearly shows a sense of solidarity in Thai can in turn redistribute relief aid to people who are society. Nonetheless, it was found that because there truly affected by the disaster. were many people and organizations working in the During the first six months after the tsunami, there affected areas, the working condition were chaotic, were an enormous number of public organizations with a great deal of duplication and differentiation of working in the target communities. or example, there relief support. This led many people from the affected were organizations working with women and children, communities to wonder how families that did not lose as well as organizations with specific expertise on much got a lot of help, but people who are really mental rehabilitation or occupational rehabilitation. affected did not get any help. Nonetheless, it was found that these organizations There were initiatives in trying to organize a system slowly withdrew from the affected areas. Today, the to manage the relief assistance, and this study found number of the organizations working closely with the that many organizations tend to approach and get in affected communities has reduced dramatically. At the touch with this local system. However, it was also present, there are a few key public organizations that found that during the first 6 months after the tsunami, continue to work closely with the communities in the when the relief operation was extremely chaotic and villages, continuing their work on rehabilitation of the complex, it was difficult to clearly and effectively see community’s livelihood, occupation, fisheries, and the or understand one single management system. This is natural resources and environment in the affected because there were no measures or mechanisms that fishing communities. These organizations include the were commonly agreed or accepted as operational Save Andaman Network (SAN), Children oundation, guidelines. Even though there have been many initiatives oundation for Women, Community Organizations towards coordination and collaboration with many Development Institute (CODI), Chomchon Thai organizations, the situation has remained chaotic. Most oundation, CARE, Sustainable Development importantly, it was clear that the local mechanisms oundation (SD), Sueb oundation, Supanimit remained weak and unable to manage relief assistance oundation, Wildlife und Thailand (under the Royal or handle natural disasters that occur.

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Despite this, many organizations had been mental rehabilitation programmes and helping working with affected communities before the tsunami to build houses. and had hence an established a relationship with the B) The Save Andaman Network (SAN) is a communities. Given the prior experience gained collective of community organizations, private through working with each other, it was found that sector organizations and public sector these organizations were able to organize and structure organizations that work in Southern Thailand. their management systems for managing and The members of the network include the distributing relief effectively. The study also found that ederation of Southern isherfolk, the NGO- this effectiveness has been a critical factor in reducing Coordinating Committee on Development problems of duplication of support and also creating (Southern Region), the Community a realization among the community members that they Organizations Development Institute (Southern have the capacity to be self-reliant instead of waiting Office), Rakpaktai Projects (Dab Ban Dab for support from outsiders. There are a number of Muang and Rian Ru Yu Dee Tee Pak Tai), our successful cases where local relief management systems Regions Slum Network, oundation for were set up and functioned effectively. Children, Thai Volunteer Service, Wildlife und Thailand (under the Royal Patronage of the Public Organizations and Networks Queen), San Saeng Arun oundation, etc. There are a large number of public organizations or Sustainable Development oundation, NGO- non-governmental organizations that have been Coordinating Committee on Development operating directly in the affected communities. or (NGO-COD) and the Siam Cement instance, the religious organization, World Vision oundation are the secretariat and serve as a oundation of Thailand, and many other organizations coordination unit. Additionally, SAN also works that have put in an effort in coordinating with each closely with Chumchon Thai oundation and other to provide support in the fisheries sector. There the Community Organizations Development has also been an effort in setting up a coordination Institute. The network’s operation has been system as well as in supporting a series of consultation reinforced by support from private international processes to identify directions and methods of work organizations and the public sector. The work that are most appropriate. There are various networks, approach of the network has also been further each of which has its unique work approach, but also strengthened by the national network of the a willingness to reconcile differences and coordinate non-governmental organizations that formed with the others. These are: itself into the Collective Network for the A) Volunteer Co-ordination Centre from Thai Rehabilitation of Andaman Communities and Public Health: The centre established a Natural Resources, centrally coordinated by the coordination centre in Koa Lak, Phang Nga NGO-COD, Bangkok. Province, with the objectives of coordinating Like other public organizations, SAN aims to the work of volunteers from Thailand and build the capacity of the affected communities overseas to go and work in an area in need of to be able to stand on their own feet, govern support. Secondly, the centre also serves as an their own relief system and receive assistance information clearing house and dissemination in a way that maintains their dignity and does centre to communicate with volunteers and the not view them simply as victims. The approach public, reinforcing best practices and reducing of self-governance is a fundamental approach misunderstanding during field operations. The to ensure a fair, equal, non-repetitive and centre has played a significant role in facilitating transparent distribution of aid among the work in different sectors, including among community members, which would otherwise small-scale fisherfolk. The volunteers have been lead to unbearable internal conflicts in the helpful in helping the communities with labour, community. Through the above philosophy, organizing community activities, organizing SAN works very closely with the affected

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communities and the Small-Scale isherfolk small-scale fisherfolk, has provided support to the Societies operates in the 6 affected provinces communities in setting up 36 boatyards to provide under the ederation of Southern isherfolk, service for 121 villages and repairing 1,578 craft. It Thailand. At the same time, it also tries to reach has also provided support for the establishment of out to communities that have never been revolving funds in a number of target communities, organized as a group, before encouraging them in order to encouge community’s saving fund to to design and establish their own relief support community’s initiative in the future. . In some distribution system. In the long term, the cases, the network provides support for free, without network aims to promote the community’s expecting the community to repay back to the participation in natural resource management, community’s central fund. But this condition only while recognizing the importance of applies to occupational rehabilitation-related activities. encouraging the communities to be able to link The network facilitates the establishment of a problems and issues arising from ineffective community revolving fund and promotion of the relief efforts and share these lessons with a wider community’s interests in natural resource management. audience. urthermore, it also encourages the This programme has a total budget of 49,698,933 community to participate in public policy THB as of 31 December, 2005. development. With respect to assistance from other C) U Volunteer, which is a group of volunteers organizations that are also working on community and from the University all over the country, centrally isheries rehabilitation, the support has focused on coordinated by Thammasart University. This replacing fishing craft, boat engines and fishing gear. aims to collaborate with the more than 5,000 Some organizations that have not been working student volunteers to provide assistance to the with the small-scale fisherfolk or do not have much affected communities. The group has been knowledge of fisheries have been providing assistance coordinating with the non-governmental for repairing and replacing fishing gear, resulting in a organizations, which in turn facilitate these phenomenon whereby the communities receive fishing students’ work with the affected communities gear that are not appropriate for some areas. or in response to the needs and problems faced example, some types of crab traps have an adverse by the communities. The differences between affect on the marine population and the environment. the skills and experiences of the students have It is also seen that in some areas, organizations with been discussed with the communities, and large budgets help people who have already received generated more meaningful sharing between help previously. two groups of people. The outcomes of the Apart from this, there are also business groups operations have improved the understanding that have been providing support to the affected fishing among the young people about the livelihood communities. Some groups coordinate with the and problems of the small-scale fisherfolk government, while there are other business groups that through serving and working alongside the work with SAN but are not themselves the actual communities. implementing agencies.

Relief Activities by Public Organizations and One year After the Tsunami: Progress of Non-Governmental Organizations and the ishing Communities Immediate Relief in isheries The non-governmental organizations that have been During a period of one year, the DO under the Sub- working with the fishing communities implement a Committee on Assistance or Tsunami-Affected number of activities including construction of Victims in isheries sector has provided assistance to permanent houses and temporary shelters; providing fishermen and fish farmers amounting to 523,891,575 support for repairing damaged craft, engines and THB, or 63.8 per cent of the total budget of fishing equipment. SAN, which is a core network that 821,080,500 THB. rom the report on progress of has been working with the communities, especially relief assistance conducted by the DO, it can be seen

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that there is an adjustment of relief measures to reach Assistance for ishing Gear Provided by out to affected fisherfolk whose craft were not Department of isheries registered with the DO. The DO provided support for fishing gear that were There are altogether 7,576 fish farmers damaged. This assistance covered 6,998 beneficiaries, (aquaculture) to whom the DO has provided both registered and non-registered. The province that assistance. 3,060 of these beneficiaries were registered received the highest amount of support was Krabi and 4,516 were non-registered. The fish farming where 1,694 individuals (24.21 per cent of all assistance) activities that received support were fish cages, shellfish, received assistance, of which 1,286 beneficiaries were shrimp farming and breeding. rom the figures registered and 408 were non-registered. The next presented above, it is seen that the amount of assistance province is Satun with 1,650 beneficiaries (23.58 per is higher than the actual number of damage reported cent of all assistance), with all 1,646 beneficiaries being by the DO on 25 July, 2005, when it stated that there non-registered. In Phang Nga, there were 1,150 are 6,275 fish farmers affected by the tsunami. The beneficiaries (16.43 per cent) with 313 beneficiaries highest assistance went to Phang Nga (2,749 persons, being registered and 837 non-registered. In Phuket, 36.29 per cent), followed by Ranong (1,336 persons, 761 beneficiaries received assistance (10.87 per cent); 17.63 per cent), Satun (1,174 persons, 15.50 per cent), 319 were registered and 442 were not registered. Last Krabi (1,162 persons, 15.34 per cent), Trang (619 of all was Ranong, where 97 people received help persons, 8.17 per cent) and Phuket (563 persons, 7.07 (1.39 per cent); all of them were not registered. per cent). Apart from this, the government also provided The DO has provided support and support to fish landing sites that were destroyed. This compensation for 6,568 damaged small-scale craft (less support covered 60 sites. 25 sites (41.67 per cent) were than 10 m), which are operated by small-scale in Ranong, 24 (40 per cent) in Phang Nga, 6 sites (10 fisherfolk. 2,986 of these craft were registered (45.46 per cent) in Phuket and 5 (8.33 per cent) in Satun. No per cent) and 3,582 were non-registered (54.54 per assistance of this kind is reported in Trang. cent). In this type of assistance, the study found that it Assistance for Tourism Boats was highest in Phang Nga Province where 2,564 craft The tourism boats were usually longer than 10 m and have been replaced (34.36 per cent), followed by Krabi belonged mostly to small-scale fisherfolk who had Province (1,264 craft, 16.94 per cent), Phuket (1,264 craft, 16.70 per cent), Trang (870 craft, 11.66 per cent), moved from fisheries to tourism-related occupations, Ranong (840 craft, 11.26 per cent) and Satun (687 craft, while some were engaged in operating speedboats for 9.09 per cent). tourists. In this category, the government provided When this is compared with the total of the overall assistance to 1,074 boats (both registered and non- damage reported by the Department of Disaster registered). The province that received most help was Prevention and Mitigation on 25 July, 2005, it is found Krabi with 820 boats (76.35 per cent) of which 565 that the assistance exceeded this damage by 2,679 craft. were registered and 225 were non-registered). This On the other hand, assistance to fishing craft longer was followed by 187 boats in Phuket (17.41 per cent) than 10 m (both registered and non-registered) is less of which 69 were registered and 118 non-registered. by 308 craft than the damage reported as of 25 July, In Phang Nga, 44 boats got assistance (4.10 per cent), 2005. This undersupply may be because the large-scale of which 13 were registered and 31 non-registered. boat owners did not follow up with the government’s In Ranong, 10 tourist boats were assisted (0.93 per assistance scheme due to its long bureaucratic process cent) and 1 boat in Satun (0.09 per cent), all of which and excessive paperwork. Nonetheless, it was were non-registered. In the case of large-scale tourism discovered that the support given to the non-registered boats, 138 have been assisted, mostly found in Phuket large-scale fishing was as high as 225 craft; most of (59 boats, 42.75 per cent, mostly registered), followed these are push nets and trawlers (most of the large- by 32 boats in Krabi province. In total, 1,212 tourist scale craft in Thailand are pushed net and trawlers, boats have been assisted. but the DO has not categorised the type of craft in It is observed that even though the assistance of the data provided on their website). the DO has increased to cover fisherfolk who were

136 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Thailand Country Report non-registered, it has not been able to cover all the families of the migrant workers were forced to stay fisherfolk affected by the tsunami. This is partly because in a small bed-sit because of a sharp increase in house there are many fisherfolk who do not own boats but rent in the affected areas. The living conditions were are the fishworkers on the medium-size or commercial extremely poor, with no sanitation. This does not fishing craft. include some workers who became displaced and hid ishworkers in small-scale fisheries are considered in the forest, fearful of being arrested by the police poor and do not have the capacity to purchase their because they lost their identity cards during the tsunami. fishing gear. Because of this, they rely on other’s craft Some who have already found a place to live refuse to fish and share the catch or the labour wage. These to walk around the street. groups of people are not included among the affected people in the statistics. Most of the assistance would Long-Term Post-Tsunami Rehabilitation go towards the cases where family members have died Aquaculture and Mariculture: Approach of and sufficient evidence of this can be provided. This Department of isheries towards Long-Term exclusion has further marginalized the informal isheriesRehabilitation fishworkers. After the tsunami, the equipment and craft Initially, the government of Thailand promoted were being repaired, so these people did not have mariculture under the name of the Seafood Bank incomes. Thus the women in these families found Programme, which was conceived following the themselves under even greater pressure to ensure food ministerial meeting of 27 January 2004, under the security and look after the welfare of the family policy on capitalization of natural resources and members and meet daily expenses. This has meant that poverty alleviation. The programme is managed by many women were forced to look for alternative the DO, the ishery Co-operatives Organization, Asset livelihoods, but during the past one year many sectors Capaitlalisation Bureau, the Bank for the Development were undergoing rehabilitation. The number of tourists of Small and Medium Enterprise and other financial had declined drastically, and the hotels were in the institutions. The project expects an annual production process of reconstruction. Therefore, employment from such mariculture of 1.5 mn tons. could only be found in the construction sites, restaurants The concept of the programme is to create new and housekeeping. These alternative livelihoods could fishery production sites to substitute the marine not provide livelihood security, because there were fisheries. The Seafood Programme aims to produce many people who were unemployed, all of whom seafood products that meet international food safety were looking to be employed in the same jobs. There standards and claims not to destroy the environment. were only a limited number of vacancies due to low The government states that because the harvest from demand in the tourism market. It can also be observed the marine fisheries has faced a constant decline, the that many migrated to other provinces to seek coastal areas must tap into its capacity to the maximum. employment. The programme is based on the capitalization of coastal resources, whereby the government will issue Migrant Workers in Commercial isheries Sector a sea entitlement document for mariculture to the main There are both registered and non-registered fisheries beneficiaries, which will grant rights for people to workers in Thailand. The tsunami has destroyed a conduct mariculture in a particular plot for 3 years. number of large-scale fishing craft that resulted in a These are the people who have signed on the poor loss of employment for these fishworkers. This has people registry and wish to take up mariculture but lead to further marginalization for the migrant workers. do not have any area to do so, fishing farmers who Before the tsunami, they were already facing many formerly conducted mariculture, and members of the social problems due to low wages, long working hours, general public who are interested. The procedures and the bureaucratic system of the government with include survey of potential areas, demarcation and high cost (3,800-4,000 THB), which does not mapping of potential target sites (which includes encourage registration. With the loss of employment, former mariculture plots and areas that are currently these workers did not receive support from the being used for mariculture and area that have the government. After the tsunami, it was found that 10 capacity for this). 284,492 rai were identified. Of this,

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107,000 rai will be allocated to the communities and community’s rights to natural resource management, each family that signed on for the programme is hence threatening food security at the community level.’ entitled to receive between 3–10 rai, depending on what marine species are to be cultured. The certificate Policy Trend on Andaman Development in the or sea entitlement deed is considered an absolute right Post-Tsunami Period: Trade Liberalisation and for the plot owners, who can lease the plot or use it as Investment in the Tsunami-affected Area a guarantee to others and even bequeath it as an The tsunami resulted in significant losses, both in the inheritance. short term and the long term, which has further The beneficiaries must mobilize themselves and affected the development and poverty situation on form co-operatives or private organizations and take the Andaman coast. During the pre-tsunami period, training on mariculture techniques to ensure that their fisheries and tourism were the major driving forces products meet international food safety standards. for economic development; these were also the The contract farming in the case of the Seafood hardest-hit sectors. The Andaman coast contributes as Bank is a system whereby the fishing co-operatives much as 3.7 mn metric tonnes to the fisheries produce have an administrative role in the project. They will be in 2000, while the tourism sector earns revenue to the similar to middlemen, who find funding sources for tune of 10 billion THB per month. The tourism the beneficiaries to take loans, who will also provide market in Thailand accounts for 27 per cent of the markets to sell their products. This means that the tourism revenue in Southeast Asia. Because of the beneficiaries will sign a contract with the lenders, tsunami, 120,000 people lost their livelihoods and whereby a guarantee price is fixed. income. There are a number of fishing communities who The push towards economic rehabilitation in the have shown interest and become beneficiaries. post-tsunami period has become the main priority for However, there are groups of people who think the Thanksin Administration. A few days after the differently. The Seafood Programme has been objected tsunami struck, the leader of the affected countries— to by a large number of fisherfolk because there was India, Maldives, Indonesia and Thailand—met in a lack of people’s participation during the planning Jarkarta to seek co-operation and support for process and there is lack of clear information. The rehabilitation. The outcome of the meeting was mass ederation of Southern isherfolk, a network of co-operations in economic rehabilitation, which fisherfolk in the 13 provinces of Thailand, stated, ‘The received support from international organistions, sea is the public property. No person can claim full particularly UNESCAP, which suggested that it have ownership. The former method of mariculture only a role in facilitating and coordinating such co-operation. allowed use of the sea year by year, and the persons The approach to be adopted is to stimulate trade who conducted mariculture were not allowed to treat liberalization and international trade in the tsunami- the sea as their private property. In the fishing affected countries. The report on Economic Impact community too, fishing gear or equipment are the only of the Tsunami written by UNESCAP states that things that can be claimed as private property. The assistance through donation can only help the affected fact that someone can claim full ownership would countries in the short term. Therefore, to be able to hinder the access to natural resources for the small- ensure long-term revival of the area, the government scale fisherfolk.’ urthermore, there are issues related must promote trade and investment in the area, as this to the central role of the government in managing the subsequently brings in employment and income- project. This is contrary to the constitution under article generating activities. The document further states that 46, which states, ‘Individuals who form traditional trade liberalization and investment are critical measures communities have the right to conserve and rehabilitate in stimulating the economy, and that the tsunami has the natural resources according to their customs or provided the opportunity for the government to culture, as well as being able to participate in the undertake these measure so. In order to go about this, sustainable management, maintenance and utilisation a regional and international trade mechanism must be of natural resources and environment. The Seafood set up to identify medium- and long-term assistance Bank Programme therefore does not respect the to the private sector, especially the small and medium

138 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Thailand Country Report enterprises that have a potential role in attracting for investment and trade with absolutely no barriers. investment and trade. The European Union and UNESCAP has proposed 4 measures which the America are suggested to be the key receiving markets. governments of the tsunami-affected countries should There is a need to eliminate all trade barriers that hinder adopt. These are the Special Investment Regime, the affected countries in trading freely (UNESCAP granting of special company status, granting special 2005). temporary LDC status to benefit from trade measures In terms of international trade, a mechanism has identified for developing countries, and the designation been set up to respond to the need of the affected of a special economic zone. countries, according to which the European Union Among these four measures, Thailand has made has announced a new Generalised System of Preference progress in development and designation of the special (GSP), a global trade mechanism to lift all trade barriers economic zone, which is one of the controversial issues that were in place before the tsunami. or instance related to post-tsunami rehabilitation. there is to be a reduction of import tariff on fabric Thailand is in the process of drafting a Special and isheries products, as well as an adjustment of Economic Zone Bill, which is a prerequisite for the anti-dumping policy (e.g., in the case of Thai shrimp, designating zones for industrial, agricultural and tourism which was blocked by the American market), and development in the tsunami-affected area. The Thai measures on food safety and environment. The government sees that the designation of Special European Commission further emphasized that Economic Zones is the best approach to promoting assisting the affected countries through establishing trade and investment. trade mechanism is the most sustainable way of Special economic zones are areas with a special assistance. Creating a favourable trade environment privileges in being able to import raw material and means that benefits will also be distributed to other equipment without tax. The entrepreneurs located developing countries. The results of a reduction in within this area receive tax exemptions, and products import tariff will facilitate a new trade system. or from this special area receive special rights under the instance, Thai shrimp will receive a tariff cut from 12 tariff reduction regime for export to the developed per cent to 4.2 per cent. In India, there will be a policy countries. urthermore, any land ownership and any on tariff reduction, particularly on garment products, kind of existing ownership pattern that appears to from 12 per cent to 9.5 per cent. The cut for shoe hinder smooth access to natural resources needed for products in Indonesia and Thailand will be from 17 raw materials can be removed, or some of land can per cent to 13.5 per cent. All these signify that the be reclaimed or exchanged. expansion of trade between countries would be worth The area is also equipped with basic infrastructure 3 billion Euros (SAAPE-ICS 2005). and has a centralized administration system to ensure With respect to promotion of investment, there that investment is facilitated and not restricted by has been a development of regional co-operation in bureaucratic requirements. Because of this, the ASEAN and BIMSTEC to serve as mechanisms to administrator of the special economic zone has greater promote industrial trade and investment. UNESCAP authority. The special economic zone will provide a has suggested that these mechanisms serve as a regional one-stop service, whereby all decision making can be hub which links foreign investor to the member done by the director, who has more authority and countries of the ASEAN where small and medium power than the local administrative organization. This enterprise development as well as increased investment will attract foreign investment, including transnational from the transnational co-operations could be corporations, triggering economic growth. The highest stimulated. These mechanisms would also mean that authority is the Prime Minister, who acts as the chair transnational co-operation would be able to access of the special economic zone committees. A case in the market. The paper goes on to say that such regional point is the special economic zone of Phi Phi Island in co-operation would benefit tourism and attract Krabi Province. The government plans to rehabilitate investors to come and build hotels and resorts. The the island after the tsunami by designating it as a special same theory can also apply to fisheries. Basically, the economic zone. The whole of the island area has been government should create an enabling environment transformed into a high-class tourism area run by the

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director of the special economic zone, instead of the in worsening of food security. The removal of existing local authority. land ownership in the zone will results in more serious Even though the government is planning to conflicts for security of land tenure among the enforce this bill and aims to promote trade and marginalized groups in the long term, while increasing investment that corresponds with the international the gap between the rich and the poor even more. policies, the special economic development bill has very broad objectives. It opens up channels for Issues of Relief Assistance and Rehabilita- industrial, agricultural, and tourism-related tion in isheries Sector: Justification and development. There is a likelihood that this will result Sustainable Development in adverse environmental impacts and affect the livelihood of the local communities. The designation Measures and Regulations for Relief: of the zone also violates human rights by overlooking ormal and Non- ormal isherfolk: Equality of the importance of people’s participation. Even the Relief Distribution drafting process of the bill has no involvement of the During the early phase after the tsunami, the people in deciding the location of the zone, government identified measures and regulations for environmental and social impacts assessment, the channelling relief assistance to the affected decision to claim ownership or utilize reserved forest communities. The main target beneficiaries were area, the adjustment of town plans, and decisions on fisherfolk whose craft and fishing gear were already how to develop irrigation system and implement other registered with the DO. This measure has become a development such as industry, settlement, tourism etc. key constraint for distributing relief assistance to the Additionally, it is found that the bill does not specify actual tsunami-affected victims in a fair manner. This the need to conduct impacts assessment for all these measure has allowed only the registered fisherfolks to interventions (except for sea reclamation) and also did be included in the official system to access relief, while not specify the need to conduct environmental impact excluding the fishermen who were not previously assessment at the strategy level. Instead, it went on to registered from gaining access to the government change the existing environmental plan by stating, ‘When assistance, even though both these groups of fisherfolk there is a designation of a special economic zone in any province, are affected by the tsunami. At a later stage, the DO the governor of that province must amend its strategic city had tried to amend its relief measures and regulations development plan, action plans and other associated plans so by enlarging the target groups to include fisherfolk that they correspond and promote and support the operation of whose craft, fishing gear and aquaculture equipment the special economic zone.’ rom this it is evident that the were not registered in the government records, as well special economic zone threatens decentralization and as unregistered tourism boats. This amendment of does not recognize the importance of people regulation had provided opportunities for the affected participation. It is not transparent and does not fisherfolk, both registered and non-registered, to be promote the role of local administrative organizations able to access assistance better. Nonetheless, it was in managing or participating in the scheme. The context found that the relief measures for the registered craft of the Bill does not mention ‘measures for addressing and non-registered craft were different. Those impacts on local communities’ but clearly highlights fishermen whose craft were not registered were only ‘special rights or benefits of the business operators or entitled to receive 70 per cent of their total claims, dwellers located inside the zone’. despite the fact the degree of damage between the Such a bill will enormously impact the registered and non-registered craft is not much environment and the livelihood of the marginalized different. This reflects the fact that the relief measures people. The marginalized people will be further still discriminate between people in the formal and excluded from natural resources which are fundamental the non-formal system. It was also found that, through livelihood assets. Additionally, the fact that the bill the interview with the community members that supports ‘free access’ for business operators to natural because many (delete many) DO’s support was given resources means that the condition of the natural in the form of cash and not by the replacement of resources and the environment will worsen, resulting the boat, many who received the compensation from

140 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Thailand Country Report the government, were unable to afford new craft government’s relief regulations, it can be seen in the because the compensation was much too low for the mindset of the officers. price of the craft. (insert) Some people received additional assistance from private organizations or non- A Common Ground in Assessing Scale of Damage governmental organization to be able to purchase new and Identification of Relief Approach craft or repair their old damaged ones. While many The government regulation has specified that there were unable to go out to fish and earn income, they must be a committee appointed to assess the damage were forced to spend the compensation money to before determining the level of assistance. However, sustain their daily livelihood, such as buying food for because a common ground in identifying the level of their family members. Without additional assistance relief is not widely accepted by the tsunami-affected from other organizations, it would be difficult for the victims and the committee, it become unclear how a affected fisherfolk to resume their fishing activities. scale of assistance is determined. urthermore, the work approach and principles are only known among Marginalized Groups and Access to Relief the committee members, and not explained to the Assistance affected people. This has led to mistrust and increasing The relief measures not only lead to discrimination reports of injustice and unrealistic evaluation of between registered and non-registered fisherfolk, but damage caused, resulting in unequal assistance even also fail to protect and rehabilitate tsunami-affected thought the level of damage is not much different. people who are the main labour force in the isheries It is also evident that the compensation given to sector. This group of people are not boat owners, the affected communities is too low for the community but supply labour in small-scale and commercial to be able to rehabilitate themselves and their families. fisheries. ishing activities conducted by small-scale If no additional assistance were to be given on top of fisherfolk usually involve more than the husband and the assistance from the government, the chance that wife of the fisherfolk family. In some cases, friends the communities would be able to resume their and relatives come to join fishing activities because livelihoods and rehabilitate themselves is minimal. A they do not own a boat themselves. These fisherfolk case in point is the system whereby 30 per cent of the are usually invisible as labour in fisheries because they total claims would be deducted simply because the are viewed as informal labour and were forgotten condition of the boat before the tsunami was poor. even before the tsunami. This finding was found during a field interview, but it The government relief measures restricted is a statement made by the tsunami-affected fishermen assistance only to fisherfolk who own fishing craft, who were responded by the local DO staff. Such an normally male fisherfolk. In fact fishing activities would engage both men and women in the family as well as approach does not take into account the fact that for the children and neighbours. These people play the fisherfolk to be able to repair and replace fishing significant roles during the pre-harvest, harvest and craft, they need to buy new equipment at a price that also the post-harvest, e.g., removing the catch from is the same as those whose craft in good condition the nets, bringing the catch to the market for sale, etc. were damaged by the tsunami. This measure is seriously This group of people is not viewed as tsunami-affected inappropriate, and has been a critical problem to the people, despite their role and contribution to fisheries poor. It also shows that lack of participation of the production. affected communities in identifying appropriate They are not classified as a group of people who measures is likely to result in further conflicts within have legitimacy to receive assistance from the isheries the community and may not necessarily lead to a sector or from the other sector, except in cases of sustainable rehabilitation programme. death. In cases where a female family member died, the family would receive compensation towards the Ethnic Groups and Migrant Workers in the death of the female family member. However, the isheries Sector: An Inability to Access Relief amount of compensation is higher if the dead person Assistance is male. Although this differential treatment between The ethnic groups and migrant workers are males and females is not clearly stated in the marginalized groups that have not been included in

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the government assistance scheme because they do not During the initial days after the disaster, the NGOs have Thai citizenship. After the tsunami, it was found made great efforts to find these affected migrant that these people had to seek shelter in temples or live workers, because they were in hiding. The role of the on the streets because their houses had been completely NGOs during that time includes interpretation for the destroyed. The migrant workers had to go into hiding migrant workers who need to communicate with in the forests and mountains. Their identity cards and government officials about the problems during the other important belongings were washed away, and disaster, disseminating information about relief and they are therefore frightened of being arrested by the measures, etc. Apart from this, there is also an initiative police. to promote long-term rehabilitation for the migrant It was found that during the distribution of aid workers. or instance there was a project conducted and basic goods in the early days after the tsunami in in collaboration between GHRE, SAN, and SD in Phang Nga Temple, the Mokens would only receive facilitating the issue of identity cards for 100 migrant small amounts of aid in kind, while the Thais received workers through the participation of the employers higher amounts. In Ban Rawai, Phuket Province, the in the medium-sized fisheries. The Network of Ulakrawoi were left watching other people receiving Migrant Workers played a role in facilitating discussions goods donated from the public without themselves to reach an agreement on the practice of holding cards. receiving anything. It is very difficult for the sea gypsies They insisted that the workers must keep their cards to access assistance from the government because they at all time. Usually, the employers retain the cards, do not have Thai citizenship. or the compensation fearing that the workers would run away and seek for craft, the government requested the claimants to jobs elsewhere, now that they have been registered. prepare a number of documents and receive a Additional support from these organizations also confirmation from the ishery Association. The village includes supporting the migrant workers to mobilize heads and the provincial heads at the district level feel and set up revolving funds, so that they can have a that the Moken that they are not Thais but Burmese. saving system that they can manage by themselves, The only support reaching the sea gypsies came from through which they can support their own welfare the non-governmental organizations. In some areas, without becoming too dependent to the employer. the sea gypsies have not been able to return to the sea, but their names have been used to attract funding. This Recommendations for the Government is especially the case with funding for infrastructure, Immediate Relief but after receiving the funding, the projects were never • Relief measures identified by the government implemented. urthermore, there has been a lack of or aid organizations must not be tied in with monitoring of the assistance. There has also been a the official system, but must be open for report that there were some Christian groups that tried marginalized people who are normally in the to provide assistance to the communities, but with the informal sector. or example, registered and condition that the community must convert to non-registered fishermen, ethnic groups and Christianity before being able to receive help. migrant workers, both registered and non- or the migrant workers, non-governmental registered, must receive equal and fair assistance. organizations from Burma called Grassroots HRE& Disaster relief must be conducted on a Development Committee (GHRE) has been working humanitarian basis. in the affected areas and providing education to • Relief measures must promote and support the Burmese children by setting up schools or learning community’s participation and self-governance, centres in Phang Nga and Ranong. Apart from this, through establishing their own relief there are also projects of national NGOs such as the management mechanisms, rules and regulations. Network of the Migrant Workers, MAP oundation Monitoring and evaluation mechanisms in and the Tsunami Action Group (TAG) and the Save particular must not be predetermined by Andaman Network, all of which provide some outsiders. This is a community empowerment assistance to migrant workers and ethnic groups. approach that encourages communities to solve

142 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Thailand Country Report

their problems collectively and work together community should be promoted. Rules and as a team, reducing problems of unequal and regulations formulated by the community duplicate distribution of assistance. Additionally, should be standardized in a flexible manner aid organizations must respect the existing according to the particular needs, conditions community’s management mechanisms. and potential capacity of each community. • Steps must be taken to enhance the community’s urther, aid organizations must play a capacity to be transparent in financial supporting role in providing advice and in management, by developing skills in financial assisting in monitoring each community in order management and accounting. Through to ensure maximum benefit for the entire participatory approaches, every community community in future. must be able to set a clear organizational structure, delegate roles and responsibilities and Land Conflicts carry out effective internal and external audits. In order to be able to meaningfully assist the urthermore, youth in the communities should communities, policies must strongly view rehabilitation be supported to carry out accounting. This will in the context of sustainability by: promote the transfer of knowledge and build • Developing a community-based land ownership system: a new generation of quality leaders for the Many of the communities’ settlements are communities. located on public or state land, e.g., Thung Wa • Citizenship must be granted to ethnic groups Village. A joint land ownership mechanism of based on appropriate conditions, so that they the community—neither individual nor that of can be protected and receive support as well as the state—needs to be established, as this ties in having the rights to participate in decision- with community rights. making regarding development and natural • Developing and improving the process of rights verification resource management. by taking the following points into consideration: (1) There were a number of Occupational Rehabilitation in isheries Sector fishing communities residing in the reserved • The government must recognize the importance forests or national parks before the tsunami. of the community’s participation in coastal The rights verification process must grant rights resource management to ensure recovery of for such people who have settled on those lands natural resources, an important asset for first, (2) People who have obtained land through sustaining livelihoods and source of income for illegitimate means must go through the land the fishing communities. It must be ensured that rights verification process again to limit their occupational rehabilitation during the post- land ownership, (3) Due to the diversity of tsunami period ensures food security, increased nature of fishing villages, re-housing must access to natural resources and poverty correspond to the needs, family size, culture and alleviation at the community level. traditions of the communities, and not follow one single standard, (4) The development of • The government must promote and support any Exclusive Zone must be implemented from the mobilization of existing communities, in perspective of the needs of the communities. order to take part in designing occupational As citizens, communities must be informed and rehabilitation activities and natural resource consulted about matters of development. management activities. • Relief measures must support the establishment Long-term Rehabilitation: Coastal Resource of community-based revolving funds to Rehabilitation address problems of occupational • The government must identify measures and rehabilitation. To develop good systems of regulations based on good governance, so that administration of community funds, the isheries management is coherent, benefits all participation of all affected villagers in the relevant sectors, and is aligned with the

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 143 Thailand Country Report

objectives of sustainability and conservation of Chai, M. (2005), ‘Impact of the Tsunami on Vulnerable natural resources. Groups and Women in Thailand’, Economic • The government must allow the communities and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific to participate in coastal resources rehabilitation, (ESCAP). A distributed paper during the conservation, management and planning for National Workshop on Impacts of the Tsunami utilization of natural resources. This is because on Vulnerable Groups and Women in Thailand, the ecosystem and natural resources vary from 27th October, 2005. one community to another. Thus, rehabilitation Community Organization Development Institute and conservation must be undertaken in (CODI) (2005), ‘Land Conflict and Tsunami’ consultation with the respective communities, at http://www.codi.or.th/index.php.?option as only this will lead to activities that are in =com_content&task=section&id=6&Itemid harmony with the local environment and the =45 livelihoods of local communities. Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation • or long-term coastal resource rehabilitation, (2005), ‘Number of Dead, Injured and Missing’ the government must also take the tsunami as at www.disaster.org an opportunity to reduce and ban trawlers, Department of isheries (2005). ‘Regulation of pushed nets and other form of destructive Department of isheries on Assistance and fishing gear. Occupational Relief for Tsunami-Affected in • isheries and aquaculture must be governed 6 Southern Province (2005)’ Available at website through sound regulation, good governance and of the Tsunami Help & Recovery Information effective management institutions that ensure System (THRI) of the Office of the Permanent equitable development and are environmentally Secretary at http://203.170.239.222/tsunami/ sound. index [9th January, 2005]. • Promotion of people’s participation in Department of isheries (2005) ‘Number of Tsunami- developing policies that encourage natural Affected Individuals in ishery Sector resource management and development of (Damages in Aquaculture, ishing Vessels, and fishing communities. ishing Gear) that Received Assistance from • Support collective management, to prevent DO (as of 26 December, 2005) at over-exploitation of natural resources due to http://www.cffp.th.com/tsunami economic investment with a business motive. ederation of Southern isherfolk (1998). Introducing • acilitate the capacity building of communities the ederation of Southern isherfolk. ederation and enhance skills and knowledge to participate of Southern isherfolk. in management of natural resources and the ISHSTAT, 2004 in A Study on the Impact of environment. Processing Industries on ishing Communities • Promote collaboration between all relevant in Thailand: The Changing Role of Women in stakeholders, including communities, non- ishing Communities (2004) by Sustainable governmental organizations, and governments. Development oundation • Terminate the Seafood Bank Programme. ood and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (AO) & Ministry of Agriculture and References Co-operatives (MOAC) (2005). Report of Joint AO/MOAC Detailed Technical Damages and Needs Action Aid Thailand (2005), ‘Tsunami and Marginalized Assessment Mission in isheries and Agriculture Sectors Ethnic Group’. A distributed Paper during the in Tsunami Affected Six Provinces in Thailand, National Human Rights Day, on the 13th available at: http://www.fao.org/documents/ December, 2005 at the 14 October Memorial show_cdr.asp?url_file=/docrep/008/ae545e/ Monument ae545e00.htm.

144 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Thailand Country Report

International Organization for Migration (IOM)/ Recommendations. 25–26 September, 2005, UNHCR/UNIEM/UNHCHR/WB, Maritime Park and Spa Resort, Krabi Province, (January 2005), Technical Assistance Mission Report: Thailand. Joint Tsunami Migrant Assistance Mission to the Ronarongpairee, W. (2005). As if the Sea Has an Owner: Provinces of Krabi, Phangnga, Phuket and Ranong, The Case of Seafood Bank. Published by Nok Chao Thailand”. Published on 16 ebruary, 2005. Printing. Obtained from website at: http://www.un.or.th /tsunami/documents/AssessmentReports/ SAAPE–ICS (2005). European Commission Accelerates IOM-Tsunami_Mission_Report-Thailand.pdf Preferential Trade Measures to Benefit Tsunami Hit Kerdmongkol, A. (2005). ‘Human Right Violation and Countries: Seminar on Indian Ocean Tsunami. A Inaccessibility to Assistance of Migrant Workers Dossier Report on Damage Assessment and in ishery during the Post Tsunami’, Paper Rehabilitation Volume 1. Produced by SAAPE– distributed in the Public orum on ‘Sustainable ICS Regional Meeting on ‘A People’s Process Long-Term Rehabilitation for Marginalized for Post-Tsunami Rebuilding’, 24–26 April, Groups Post Tsunami: Identifying Challenges, 2005, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Strategies and Policy Recommendations’, 22– Save Andaman Network (July 2005). Rebuilding Lives, 25 September, 2005, Maritime Park and Spa Reviving Communities After the Tsunami: 6-month Resort, Krabi Province Thailand. Progress Report (January–June, 2005). Save Office of Conservation of Marine and Coastal Andaman Network and Sustainable Resource under the Department of Marine and Development oundation. Coastal Resource (March 2005). ‘A Report on UNESCAP (2005). ‘Papers: Special ocus on the Impact of Tsunami on Coastal Resources along Tsunami’, available at: http://www.unescap.org Andaman Coast’. Produced by Coastal Land /tid/publication/aptir2362_mechanism.pdf. Management Unit. UNDP/World Bank/AO (2005) ‘Report of Joint Office of Permanent Secretary of Prime Ministry’s Tsunami Disaster Assessment Mission 4-8 Office website at: http://203.170.239.222/ January, 2005, Livelihood Recovery and tsunami/index Environmental Rehabilitation’. Ministry of Social Development and Human Security (2005). ‘Tsunami Help & Recovery Information Endnotes System (THRI) of the Office of the Permanent 1 Information from Mangrove forest Conservation Office, Secretary’, available at http://203.170.239.222/ Coastal and Marine Resource Department, Ministry of Natural tsunami/index [9 January, 2005]. Resources and Environment. Mobile Cabinet Minute of Meeting on Tsunami 2 According to the oreign Labour Service Office, Department Assistance (6 September, 2005). A distributed of Labour Placement, Ministry of Labour, a total of 127,925 document for the Public orum on Sustainable illegal migrants are living in the tsunami-affected provinces. Long-Term Rehabilitation for Marginalized It is believed that the migrant workers have been migrating Groups Post Tsunami: Identifying Issues, into Thailand and have been registered with the government Challenges and Policy Recommendations. 25– in the 6 affected provinces. Of these 127,925 people, 88,558 26 September, 2005, Maritime Park and Spa people have been registered with the Ministry of Labour. However, it is believed that around 20–50% of registered Resort, Krabi Province, Thailand. migrant labourers are working illegally in the area Petchmark, P. (2005). ‘Approaches for Addressing Land (Kerdmongkol 2005). Conflict in 6 Tsunami Affected Provinces’, 3 However, there was another report from public agency A distributed document for the Public orum indicating that there are not that many shrimp farming along on Sustainable Long-term Rehabilitation for the Andaman coast compared to Gulf of Thailand areas. Marginalized Groups Post-Tsunami: 4 Source: AO and Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives, Identifying Issues, Challenges and Policy 2005.

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 145 Thailand Country Report

5 Sor Kor is an abbreviation for Sitti Krob Krong, which more than 70–100 households is grouped as a different village, means the right to own. This is not a document as such, but identified as ‘Moo’. Therefore, one village may be made up when a person applies for land ownership, they have to work of different Moos, depending on the number of households. through different levels of land rights before they finally attain Each Moo is treated as a different administrative unit. So one the land entitlement document. Sor Kor is one of these steps. can have, for example, Thap Tha Wan Village, Moo 8, Tambon XX, Ampur XXX, Phang Nga Province. Tor Bor is an abbreviation for Tha Bien Thee Din. It refers to the land certificate, which is also the land entitlement 7 These are Pak Triem village, Thung Wa village, Hua Lame document. village in Phgan Nga Province, Sang Ka U village in Krabi Province, Pak Bang village, Nok Lae village in Phuket, Kor Sor Kor and Tor Bor also have different series, such as Sor Muk village in Muk Island, Ta Sae village, Lame Sai village, Kor 1, Sor Kor 2, Sor Kor 3 or Tor Bor 5, etc. Chang Lang village, Kuan Thung Ku village, Mod Ta Noi 6 Moo is an administrative subdivision of a village. Under village, Pra Muang village and Had Sai Thong village in Trang the policy of the Ministry of the Interior, a village that has Province.

146 List of Villages*, Districts and Sub-Districts Affected by the Tsunami

No. Province Ampur Tambon Moo Villages/Communities Note 1 Phang Tra Kua Thung Kok Kloy 5 Harn Bua Village Nga 6 Na Thai Village 7 Tha Nun Village 11 Tha Pak Wang Village 14 Kao Pi Lai Village Lor Ngu 6 Lame Hin Village 7 Ban Chan Village 9 Ba Kan Village Klong Kien 1 Klong Kean Village 2 Hin Rom Village 3 Chao Kluy Village 4 Yarn Saba Village 5 Tee Tae Village 6 Klong Sai Village 7 Hard Sai Pluak Hoi Village 8 Aow Ma Karm Village Ka Lai 2 Kuan Village 11 Kor Klang Village Tra Kua Par Kuk Kak 1 Pak Taweep Village 2 Bang Kaya Village 3 Kuk Kak Village 4 Thung Kamin 5 Bang Nueng 6 Bang Nueng 7 Lar Own Village Kor 1 Muang Mai Village Kor Kao 2 Nok Nar Village 3 Pak Klor Village 4 Thung Tuk Village 5 Ban Nuang Village Phang Trakuapar Bang 2 Nam Kem Village Nga Muang 3 Bang Mor Village 6 Bang Lud Village 7 Bang Sak Nuer Village 8 Bang Sak Tai Village Kor Yao Kor 2 Chong Lard Village Yao 3 Yar Mee Village Yai 4 Klong Born Village Ban Kor 1 Tha Kai Village Yao Noi 4 Tha Kao Village

147 List of Villages*, Districts and Sub-Districts Affected by the Tsunami (contd.)

No. Province Ampur Tambon Moo Villages/Communities Note 5 Rim Thalay Village 6 Lame Yang Village 7 Han Pao Village Pru Nai 1 Lo Po Village 2 Pru Nai Village 3 Lo Pa Lai Village 4 Tha Luar Village 5 Klong Din Nuew 6 Ook Village 7 Lo Pa Rade Village Tai Muang Tai Muang 9 Thap Yang Village Na Tai 7 Nai Rai Village Lam Kan 1 Sam Ru Village 2 Kao Lak Village 4 Tha Din Daeng 5 Thap Lamu village Thung Maprao 2 Kor Nok Village Kuraburi Kor Prathong 1 Thung Dab Village 2 Tha Pa Yoi Village 3 Kor Ra Village 4 Pak Jok Village Kura 4 Pak Triem Village 5 Thung Nakam Village Phang Kuraburi Bang Wan 1 Bang Wan Village Nga 4 Thung Ong Village Muang Bang Toei 6 Klang Village 8 Bang Pad Village 9 Tai Village Kor Pan Yee 3 Kor Mai Pai Village Total 6 19 69 2 Krabi Muang Aow Nang 1 Chong Plee Village 2 Aow Nang Village 3 Klong Haeng Village 4 Na Deen Village 5 Thung Village 6 Klong Son Village 7 Kor Phi Phi Village 8 Lame Thong Village Kao Karm 1 Thung Village 2 Nong Jik Village

148 List of Villages*, Districts and Sub-Districts Affected by the Tsunami (contd.)

No. Province Ampur Tambon Moo Villages/Communities Note 3 Nai Nang Village 6 Koa Kom Village klong Prasong 1 Kor Klang Village 2 Klong Prasong Villge 3 Klong Kam Village Sai Thai 1 Suan Prik Village 2 Nong Kok Village 3 Klong Ji Lar Village 4 Sai Thai Village 5 Aow Nam Mao Village 6 Lame Pod Village 7 Klong Hin Village Kao Thong 1 Nai Sa Village 2 Kao Thong Village 3 Tha Lane Village 4 Nam Krom Krom Village 5 Tha Pru Village 6 Tha Ang Thong Village Krabi Muang Nong Thalay 1 Nong Thalay Village 2 Klong Muang Village 3 Kor Kwang Village 5 Nai Rai Village 6 Din Daeng Noi Village 7 Kao Krom Nuer Klog Nuer Klong 1 Nai Rai Village 2 Ban Klong Nuer Village 3 Sai Po Tai Village Klong Kanan 3 Klong Mark Village 5 Klong Kanan Village 8 Lame Kluid Village 9 Tha Yang Village Kor Sri Borya 1 Klong Tor Village 2 Kor Phu Village 3 Kor Cham Village 4 Kor Hang Village 5 Thing Rai Village 6 Kor Sriboya Village 7 Lang Kor Village Taling Chan 1 Klong Luai Village 2 Tha Ling Chan Village

149 List of Villages*, Districts and Sub-Districts Affected by the Tsunami (contd.)

No. Province Ampur Tambon Moo Villages/Communities Note 3 Klong Yuan Village 4 Had Yao Village 5 Pak Lar Village Klong Kamao 2 Klong Kamao Village 3 Kuan Tor Village 4 Hua Non Village KorLanta Kor Lanta Yai 1 Hua Lame Village 2 Sri Raya Village 4 Kor Por Village 5 Klong Hin Village 6 Klong Nin Village 7 Sang Ka U Villge 8 Klong Tobe Village Krabi Kor Lanta Kor Lanta Noi 1 Lang Sod Village 2 Klong Mark Village 3 Thung Village 4 Lao Yai Village 5 Kong Tanode Village 6 Non Libong Village Kor Klang 1 Ra Phu Village 2 Ra Mard Village 3 Pak Lar Village 4 Ya Nad Village 5 Liki Village 6 Klong Chap Village 7 Ang Thong Lang 8 Hua Hin Village 9 Tha Klong Village Sala Darn 1 Sala Darn Village 2 Pra Ae Village 3 Lo Bara Village 4 Thung Yee Peng Village 5 Lo Tu Yong Village Klong Yang 2 Klong Yang Village 3 Kok Yung Village 7 Sang Ka U Villge Klong Tom Klong Tom Tai 2 Klong Tom Tai Village 3 Klong Karn Village 6 Wang Hin Village 7 Tai Village

150 List of Villages*, Districts and Sub-Districts Affected by the Tsunami (contd.)

No. Province Ampur Tambon Moo Villages/Communities Note 2 Thung Samet Village 3 Nam Ron Village 4 Tha Pradu Villge 5 Klong Kae Village 7 Na Village 8 Kuan Village 9 Thung Kuan Village Krabi Klong Tom Klong Pon 1 Klong Pon Village 5 Mu Sa Village 9 Than Mapraw Village 12 Thung Yor Villag 13 Klong Yee Lae Village Sai Kao 4 Sai Kao Village Aow Luk Lame Sak 1 Hin Kao Village 2 Aow Nam Village 3 Lam Sak Village 4 Samilang Village 5 Klong Lad Village 6 Nai Sai Village Aow Luk Noi 2 Ba Kan Village 3 Aow Luk Noi Village 6 Kerewong Village Total 5 22 112 3 Phuket Muang Karon 1 Karun Community 2 Kata Community 3 Bang La Communiyt 4 Kok Chang Village 5 Kok Tanod Village Wichit 1 Na Born Tai Village 3 Teen Kao Village 6 Bor Lae Village 7 Aow Makarm Village 8 Lame Pan Wa Village 9 Tha Klang Bon 3 Par Lai Village 5 Na Kok Village 7 Wad Mai Village Radasa 1 Kor Sirae Village 4 Lame Tuk Kae Village 7 Tha Luer Mai Village

151 List of Villages*, Districts and Sub-Districts Affected by the Tsunami (contd.)

No. Province Ampur Tambon Moo Villages/Communities Note Phuket Muang Kor Kaew 1 Sapam Village 3 Bang Nuew Village 4 Kor Kaew Village 5 Kor Kaew Village 6 Lang Kong Sri 7 Lame Hin Village Rawai 1 Sai Yuan Village 2 Had Lawai Village 3 Kor Loan Village 4 Bang Kana Tee Village 5 Har Yak Village 6 Lame Prom Thep Village 7 Sai Yuan Village Sam Suk Community Tha Lang Cheang Thalay 2 Bang Tao Village 3 Had Surin Village 4 Par Sak Village 5 Bang Tao Nok Village 6 Kok Tanod Village Saku 1 Nai Yang Village 2 Trok Muang Village 3 Saku Village 4 Nai Thong Village 5 Bang Kar Lao Village Mai Kaow 1 Mark Prok Village 3 Suan Mapraw Village 4 Mai Kaow Village Par Klok 1 Pak Cheek Village 2 Pa Klok Village 3 Bang Pae, Bang Rong Village 4 Para Village 5 Kor Naka Village 6 Aow Por Village 7 Ya Mu Village Phuket Tha Lang Pa Klok Village 8 Bang Lar Village 9 Aow Kung Village Theb Krasattri 3 Leang Village 4 Don Village 6 Lame Sai Village Krathu Pathongwithing the mulnicipality

152 List of Villages*, Districts and Sub-Districts Affected by the Tsunami (contd.)

No. Province Ampur Tambon Moo Villages/Communities Note

Kamala 1 Bang Wan Village 2 Nuer Village 3 Kok Yang, Nakakae Village 4 Kamala, Klang Village 5 Hua Kuan Village 6 Naka Village Total 3 14 63 4 Ranong Muang Kor Payam 1 Kor Payam Village 2 Kor Chang Village Pak Nam 1 Pak Nam Village 2 Kor Kanatee Village 4 Kor Sin Hai Village 6 Kor Lao Village Ngaw 3 Tha Chang Village 4 Lang Village 5 Had Sai Dam Village Ratchakrud 1 La Oong Village 2 Lang Village 3 Kao Yuak Village 4 Huai Nam Sai Village 5 Nok Ngang Village 6 Klong Kong Village 7 Huai Pling Village 8 Kajadpai Village Sai Daeng 1 Sai Daeng Village 2 Hin Dard Village 3 Nam Tok Village 4 Bang Sri Kum Village Ranong Kapur Muang Klang 1 Muang Klang Village 2 Bang Bane Village 3 Sam Nak Village 4 Aow Kiey Village Kapur 1 Darn Village 2 Huai Sied 5 Kong Sri Village 7 Bang Prulang Village 8 Chee Mee Village 10Kok Chang Village Bang Hin 1 Char Klee Village

153 List of Villages*, Districts and Sub-Districts Affected by the Tsunami (contd.)

No. Province Ampur Tambon Moo Villages/Communities Note 2 Bang Hin Village 5 Klong Sai Village Suk Samran Kam Puan 1 Thalay Nok Village 2 Nuar Village 3 I2’3'’ 4 Phu Kao Thong Village 5 Suk Samran Village 6 Ton Kloi Village 7 Had Sai Kao Village Naka 1 Ban Man Village 2 Na Pru Village 3 Bang Kluei Nok Village 4 Kuan Sai Ngam Village 6 Lame Nao Village 8 Thung Toa Village Total 3 10 47 5 Satun Muang Kor Sarai 1 Tanyong Uma Village 2 Bar Kan Yai Village 3 Tan Yonng Kling Village 4 Yala Tod Nui Village 5 Yala Tod Yai Village 6 Ta Lo Nam Village Satun Muang Pu Yu 2 Tan Yong Ka Boi Village 3 Phu Yu Village Tan Yong Poi 1 Tan Yong Poi Village 2 Had Sai Kao Village 3 Bar Kan Kei Village Jae Libong 2 Jae Libong Village 3 Pa Tae Village 4 Ban Nang Pulao Village 6 Pa Tae Nuer Village Kuan Kan 6 Tha Hin Village Klong Kud 2 Tha Jeen Village 3 Kor Nok Village La Ngu Pak Nam 1 Bor Jed Look Village 2 Pak Bala Village 3 Kor Bulone Village 4 Ta Lo Sai Village 5 Tha Yang Village

154 List of Villages*, Districts and Sub-Districts Affected by the Tsunami (contd.)

No. Province Ampur Tambon Moo Villages/Communities Note 6 Tha Malai Village 7 Tha Payom Village La Ngu 1 Tha Cha Muang Village 2 Pak La Ngu Village 3 Kor Yuan Village 4 La Nga Village 6 Hua Thang Village 7 Bar Kan To Thid Village 14 Lorm Puean Village 15 Nai Sai Village 18 Kok Payom 3A 1 Kuan Sai Village 2 Lae Lar Village 3 Kuan Village 4 Kuan Yai Village 5 Pi Yai Village 6 Pluck Mala Village Satun La Ngu Kam Pang 10Pak Ping Village 11 Thung Samet Village 12 Tu Tae Lam Village Lame Son 1 Tan Yong Lanai Village 2 Kar Bang Village 3 Buboi Village 4 Son Klang Village 5 Su Ngai Mu So Village 6 Son Mai Village Thung Wa Korn Klang 1 Klon Klan Tawan Ok Village 2 Rawai Tai Village 3 Kon Klang Village 4 Rawai Nuer Villag Na Thong 3 Chong Sai Nuer Village 4 Wang Thong Village Thung Bu Lang 1 Thung Ma Ngag 2 Thung Sapo Village 3 Thung Tha Nan Village 4 Thung Na 5 Thung Bu Lang Tha Pae Sakorn 1 Thung Rin Village 2 Sakorn Village 3 Klong Leedee Village

155 List of Villages*, Districts and Sub-Districts Affected by the Tsunami (contd.)

No. Province Ampur Tambon Moo Villages/Communities Note 4 Teen Village 6 Klong Ban Village Tha Luar 3 Rai Thong Village Tha Pae 7 Sai Kuan Village 8 Da Lao Village Total 4 17 70 6 Trang sub-district Ta Sae 1 Na Thalay Village Had Samran 2 Na Chum Hed Village 3 Thung Plaew Village 4 Ta Sae Village Trang sub-district Had Samran 1 Pak Pron Village Had Samran 5 Lame Por Village 6 Kok Kwa Village 10Kok Kai Village 11 Narapod Village 12 Kok Kien Village Kan Thang Libong Island 1 Kok Thon Village 2 Muk Village 3 Mod Ta Noi Village 4 Ba Tu Bu Tae Village 5 Lang Kao Village 6 Choa Mai Village 7 Sai Kaew Village Ban Sak 3 Kuan Thung Ku Village 4 Nam Rab village Na Klier 1 Had Sai Kao Village 4 Pra Muang Village Kan Tang Tai 4 Kor Kiem Village Si Kao Kao Mai Kaew 3 Lame Sai Village 4 Bang Kang Kao Village 5 Lame Makarm Village 7 Thung Thong village Mai ard 3 Mai ard village 4 Had Pak Meng Village 5 Chang Larng village 7 Na Lae Village Bor Hin 2 Pru Jud Village 6 Hua Hin Village 8 To Pan Village 9 Ban Pak Klong Village

156 List of Villages*, Districts and Sub-Districts Affected by the Tsunami (contd.)

No. Province Ampur Tambon Moo Villages/Communities Note Trang Pa Lean Tha Karm 1 Tha Karm village 2 Yong Star Village 3 Teen Village 4 Thung Ruang Thong Village 6 Thorn Harn Village 7 Tok Village 8 Tha Kam Tok Village 9 Kuan Lam Petch Village Su So 1 Su Sar Village 4 Tha Klong Village 7 Thung Kor Village 11 Nai Thong Village Ban Nar 7 Lame Yang Village Kor Sukorn 1 Saim Mai Village 2 Lame Village 3 Klang Na Village 4 Sai Thong Village Total 4 13 51 Grand Total 25 95 412

* Of the 418 villages affected by the tsunami, 412 are listed here. Source: Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, Secretariat of Supporting Center for Tsunami Affected Victims in Phuket

157 158 Post-tsunami Rehabilitation of ishing Communities and isheries-based Livelihoods in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, India

by Venkatesh Salagrama Director, Integrated Coastal Management, India

January 2006

159 India Country Report

Acknowledgements

Many organizations and people helped in various ways in conducting this study and thanks are owed to all of them for sharing their experiences and impressions, facilitating field visits and, more than anything else, for their zeal and enthusiasm. Obviously, none of them is responsible for the shortcomings that remain. Grateful acknowledgements are due to: • Chandrika Sharma and everyone at the International Collective in Support of ishworkers (ICS) for commissioning and supporting the study at every stage; it proved to be a great opportunity to make new friends and re-discover the joys of working with ‘real’ people; • The South Indian ederation of ishermen Societies (SIS), particularly Vivek and Satish, for their unstinting support at every step; • In Nagapattinam: at the NGO Co-ordination and Rehabilitation Centre (NCRC), Annie and her team of untiring souls, especially Thaddeus and Prabhu; plus, of course, that incorrigible tsunami man, Antony Benchilas; • In Kanyakumari and Kerala: SIS, especially Ajit and Julian Teelar; ranklin at KDS, Nageroil; John Swamy at SIS Information Centre, Karunagapalli; • In Cuddalore: Ravindran and his colleagues at LEAD; • In Pondicherry and Villupuram: Belgin at SIS; Karthik at LEAD; Prashant Hedao and Samad at Auroville; • In Chennai and Chingleput: Dr Subramanian of SIS; • In Andhra Pradesh: S B Sarma of SIS and Baburao Vemagiri; • My colleague Durga Prasad, who accompanied me to Nagapattinam, Kanyakumari and Kerala and undertook fieldwork in Andhra Pradesh along with Mr Sarma; and • inally, the people in the fishing communities and the functionaries of the NGOs and the government, who shared their experiences and expertise so patiently and candidly. We hope the study reflects their opinions truthfully. Special thanks are due to: Dr Ahana Lakshmi of the Tsunami Rehabilitation and Information Network (TRINET), Dr H M Kasim of the Central Marine isheries Research Institute (CMRI), Chennai, Dr Narayana Kumar of CMRI, Kakinada, Harikrishna of Oxfam America, Dr Jock Stirrat, University of Sussex, UK, and Muralidharan and Sreeram Sudheer of APRO.

160 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings India Country Report

Contents

Introduction ...... 163 Impacts of the Tsunami on Coastal ishing Communities ...... 164 Extent of damages ...... 164 Impacts on craft, gear and infrastructure...... 164 Impacts on different livelihood groups ...... 166 Impact on natural resources ...... 166 Impact on the psyche of the fishers ...... 168 Impact on social networks ...... 169 Rehabilitation of isheries-based Livelihoods ...... 170 Packages for supporting fisheries-based livelihoods...... 170 Issues related to restoration of boats ...... 172 Issues related targeting ...... 175 Infrastructure in fisheries ...... 178 Credit in fisheries ...... 179 Disaster preparedness and sea safety issues ...... 180 isheries management ...... 181 Livelihood diversification and alternative income generation ...... 182

Key Issues in Rehabilitation of isheries-based Livelihoods in Tamil Nadu ...... 183 Changing patterns of boat ownership ...... 183 Group ownership ...... 185 Ownership of boats by women ...... 187 The possible impact of new boats on fisheries resources ...... 187 Quality concerns with the new boats ...... 189

Rehabilitation of ishing Communities...... 191 Land and shelter issues ...... 191 Details of shelter rehabilitation programmes ...... 191 Relevance of the shelter programmes for the coastal communities...... 192 The issue of relocation ...... 192 Progress of the shelter programmes ...... 195 Community participation in shelter programmes ...... 195 Issues related to shelter in Kerala ...... 196 Impact of housing on the quality of life and livelihoods ...... 197 The Institutional Context ...... 197 The State government ...... 197 The NGOs ...... 199

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 161 India Country Report

New institutional initiatives ...... 201 The traditional panchayats ...... 201 Community organizations...... 202 Conclusions ...... 203 Relevance of the rehabilitation programmes for sustainable fisheries livelihoods ...... 203

Summary ...... 206

References ...... 206 Annexure 1: List of places visited during the field study ...... 209 Annexure 2: Progress of house reconstruction programmes in Tamil Nadu ...... 210

162 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings India Country Report

Introduction with a string of exceptions and qualifiers that may The objectives of the study were: not always be explicit. Time and logistical constraints • to provide an overview of major interventions also meant that the visits to the tsunami-affected areas related to rehabilitation of fisheries-based were necessarily brief and covered only some livelihoods and analyze some of the key issues/ locations; linguistic barriers further constrained a free challenges arising from their design and impact exchange of information. All the same, the study strove on fisheries resources and fishing communities; to draw its conclusions from a wide range of sources and and validate the same in various ways, in order to • to provide an overview of shelter and present the best possible evidence on the many issues reconstruction interventions specific to fishing discussed here. communities, and discuss their merits and This diversity also necessitated focusing on certain demerits areas – for example, Tamil Nadu, especially the Coromandel Coast – more than on others, and charting Duration and Coverage of Study the progress of rehabilitation programmes in these The study was conducted during October-December areas in more detail. The discussion about the other 2005, covering the three coastal States of Tamil Nadu, areas (Kerala and Andhra Pradesh) had perforce to Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. In Tamil Nadu, the study be confined to highlighting certain features that were covered five districts (four on the Coromandel Coast specific to those areas or differed significantly from and one – Kanyakumari – further south). In Kerala, the rehabilitation programmes – in terms of content, two affected districts – Alappuzha and Kollam – were planning, implementation or uptake – in Tamil Nadu. covered, while in Andhra Pradesh, the study covered or a variety of reasons, this study focused on five coastal districts in the central and southern zones the qualitative aspects of rehabilitation and this may of the State. or logistical reasons, the study concerned have been at the expense of providing robust itself only with the marine fishing communities, and quantitative data. It was also found to be very difficult the people in other subsectors – for example, inland to verify the data obtained from different capture and aquaculture – were not covered. The list implementing agencies at the village level, either because of villages visited during the study is provided in the programmes were still in various stages of Annexure I. implementation or because (in several instances) the informants in the village did not know the provenance Some Clarifications of some kinds of assistance they had received. Under- In the post-tsunami rehabilitation programmes, there reporting the assistance received was an endemic were far too many initiatives with much diversity in problem in most villages visited during the study, and their approaches, directions and outcomes; attempting physical verification was not always possible. to draw generalisations right across the board, even inally, it has to be made clear that this study is an within a State, is extremely difficult. That many activities effort to take stock of what was happening on the were still in various stages of progress also means rehabilitation front and to explore how things could that they could develop differently from the way be improved, and is certainly not an exercise in foreseen by this study. It is also too early to understand pointing fingers, which is why all mention of specific and explain the long-term implications of the different persons or organizations have been avoided in the interventions – such as changes in fishing patterns (at report. If some conclusions are critical about sea and on shore), costs and returns, relative particular aspects of the rehabilitation work importance of different players in the production and (particularly on the issue of giving boats), they are market chains, etc. – and the poor fishing that presented with the belief that the situation could still characterized operations during the last few months be improved. Dealing with the tsunami was a totally also made it difficult to ascertain how some of the new experience for everyone, and the magnitude of interventions worked in reality. the disaster was unprecedented, which naturally meant It thus needs to be acknowledged that the that people had to invent the systems to cope with it conclusions arrived at in this report necessarily come by trial-and-error and, that too, in the shortest possible

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time; under the circumstances, the issue was not that consisting of villages in Kollam, Alappuzha and there were some mistakes, but that there were so few Ernakulam districts, with most damages concentrated of them. in Kollam district. However, compared to the scale of damages in coastal Tamil Nadu, the physical and Structure of the Report economic losses inflicted by the tsunami on Andhra The next chapter focuses on the impact of the tsunami Pradesh and Kerala were fewer. This was apparent on the fisheries sector in the three States. The third from the fact that people in these areas (especially in chapter discusses the components of the post-tsunami Andhra Pradesh) seemed to have largely overcome rehabilitation programmes related to fisheries the effect of the tsunami, except for rehabilitation livelihoods, and the following chapter addresses some purposes. key issues related to rehabilitation of fisheries livelihood programmes. The fifth chapter summarizes the issues Impacts on Craft, Gear and Infrastructure concerning the shelter programmes and their relevance The ADB/UN/World Bank report summarizes for the fisheries-related livelihoods in the three States. the fisheries-related losses due to the tsunami as The sixth chapter discusses the institutional context in follows: which the rehabilitation programmes took place, The tsunami destroyed or damaged nearly 5,000 and the final chapter summarizes the findings of the mechanized boats, causing damage valued at Rs. 663.1 study. crore ($152.4 million) – a total of 7,933 RP boats/ vallams valued at Rs. 50.1 crores ($11.5 millions); about Impacts of the Tsunami on Coastal ishing 24,580 boats of other categories, mainly motorized, Communities valued at Rs. 121.0 crore ($27.8 million); and 35,483 Extent of Damages wooden catamarans valued at Rs. 90.0 crore ($20.7 In India, the tsunami of 26 December 2004 affected million). In addition, 2,342 outboard motors worth the States of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala Rs. 10.1 crore ($2.3 million) were damaged or lost and the Union Territories of Pondicherry and the Nets sets valued at Rs. 44.4 crore ($10.2 million) were Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Approximately 2,260 damaged or lost. Boat seines worth Rs. 19.9 crore km of the coastal area (besides the entire Nicobar ($4.6 million) were lost in Kerala. Islands) was affected, and the fisheries sector bore Damages have been reported on both coasts to the brunt of the tsunami, accounting for 85 per cent about 388 ha of shrimp ponds (worth Rs. 8.4 crore of the damages. or $1.9 million), and five hatcheries (Rs. 0.25 crore or According to the Government of India’s Report $57,500), and to 102 small-scale oyster farms in Kerala to the Nation in June 2005, as many as 12,405 lives valued at Rs. 0.102 crore ($23,500). were lost: 8,009 in Tamil Nadu, 3,513 in Andaman & Nicobar Islands, 599 in Pondicherry, 177 in Kerala Losses Related to ishing Implements in the and 107 in Andhra Pradesh. The toll included 14 Three States Indians overseas, including 13 in Sri Lanka and one in The main impacts of tsunami related to marine fisheries the Maldives (Joint UN Report, 2005:3). included: loss or damage to fishing boats, nets and Among the three States covered by this study, engines; infrastructure for landing, fish processing and Tamil Nadu was the worst affected, with the trade-related activities, apart from loss of lives of Coromandel Coast taking the most losses. The coastal active fishers. areas south of the Coromandel Coast, that is, the Palk Bay and large parts of the Gulf of Mannar were Tamil Nadu spared, but the southernmost district in the State, According to the Department of isheries, the total Kanyakumari, was hit badly along its west coast. In number of boats damaged by the tsunami was 51,078. Andhra Pradesh, the impacts of the tsunami were felt Besides the fishing boats, 78 shrimp aquaculture farms, by six southern districts (from Nellore in the south, with a total area of 370 hectares, were damaged. The extending up to East Godavari). In Kerala, the effects Department of isheries puts the number of shrimp of the tsunami were felt in a relatively small area, hatcheries damaged at 22.1

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Andhra Pradesh states were as follows: According to the internal2 documents of the In several villages in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Department of isheries and Velugu, the nodal agency Nadu, where sea erosion was a big problem, the land for tsunami rehabilitation in the state, the total number near the beach was avoided by the more affluent of boats affected by the tsunami was 11,394. Of people, which was an opportunity for the poor people these, 2,418 were lost and 8,976 were damaged. to build their houses on the beach. The tsunami washed Kerala away many of these houses in large numbers, carrying In Kerala, losses to fishing equipment in the four away the meagre assets that these families had, and affected districts were as shown in Table 3. their capacity to recover from such shock is often very low. Losses to Infrastructure Related to ishing Summary of Damages and Losses The losses to economic infrastructure – access roads The ADB/UN/World Bank study summarizes the and bridges, transport systems, communication damages and losses in India (in $million) as follows: facilities, harbours and jetties, fish landing, processing, marketing, packing and transporting infrastructure etc Problems in Loss Assessment – were quite significant on the Coromandel Coast. The figures related to fisheries-related losses, given in This proved to be a serious handicap to undertake the foregoing section, show that the loss assessment rescue and rehabilitation activities as well as to resume was confined largely to the productive assets. The fishing operations subsequently8. The tsunami also ADB/UN/World Bank report notes this: “In their highlighted the fact that, for many fishing communities evaluations, the governments have focused on the along the Coromandel Coast (as elsewhere), poor damage to the productive assets but paid less attention access to infrastructure continued to be a serious to damages caused to livelihoods in fishing villages, handicap, adding significantly to their physical and and to those who provide support services.” The economic vulnerability. report goes on to list a number of other problems Losses Related to Housing with the loss assessment methodologies. According to the ADB/UN/World Bank, the Even within the specific areas where loss estimated numbers of damaged houses in the three assessments had been done, there were wide gaps: no

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cat = catamarans/kattamarams reliable numbers were available about the different might be low (especially in comparison with the boats), varieties of fishing craft operating in different areas there was no denying that the tsunami affected them in the pre-tsunami period. Lack of baseline data makes in several ways: firstly, many people who died at loss assessment a tricky business and leads to big crowded fish landing centres like Nagapattinam differences in the assessments made by different belonged to these categories and the death of the main agencies. Although the Department of isheries in bread-earners had been a serious handicap for their Tamil Nadu conducted a detailed census of the fishing surviving family members. In several cases, this boats in the state in 2000, the figures needed updating. necessitated the surviving members of the family to As the following table shows, the assessment of losses begin working. Secondly, many of these people came made by three organizations in Kanyakumari comes from poor economic backgrounds and the low- up with three different sets of figures, with wide surplus, subsistence nature of their activities often variations between them (from Johnson Raj’s forced them to use their working capital to meet their presentation at the TRINET workshop in May 2005). consumption needs, so that by the time the fishing Such wide disparities in numbers have activities started again, many of them found themselves contributed to some of the confusion that assailed at the mercy of moneylenders or simply forced out the rehabilitation efforts, leading to exaggeration of of their traditional occupations. Several people from losses9 and duplication of efforts. non-fishing communities, who play a direct or indirect role in the production and marketing chains, also Impacts of the Tsunami on Different Livelihood suffered badly as a result of tsunami. Groups A majority of investments in the sector came from While the boat owners were the most important and the informal sector and it is said that the people worst visible losers from the tsunami, the loss of boats and affected in the tsunami were the moneylenders and the consequent stoppage of fishing operations for the trader-financiers, who lost sizeable investments in extended periods had an impact on the long chain of the sector. intermediaries in the production and marketing chains. Even among the primary producers, while many boat Impact of the Tsunami on Natural Resources owners lost their productive assets, the crewmembers Erosion of beaches, which provided a number of suffered from long periods of inactivity following services to the fishers, was a serious concern in many the tsunami. It took some time before the boats could places including the Coromandel Coast and Andhra be repaired or replaced and the crewmembers – by Pradesh. The fishers contended that the sea had virtue of their low savings – often fared badly. encroached upon the beaches and reduced the space Many people involved in processing (traditional available for keeping the boats, auctioning catches, or modern), trade and ancillary activities lost their tools mending nets, drying fish and firewood and doing a of trade and several people also lost huge quantities host of other things that they generally did on the of fish spread on the beaches for drying.10 While the beaches. In Anumandai Kuppam in Villupuram district, losses to the processors in terms of physical assets the fishers reported that the sea had encroached nearly

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40 metres inland, reducing the space available for the fisheries resources and consequently on fish keeping boats, which were now crowded in a very production. There is evidence in the studies conducted small area. In Vodarevu in Andhra Pradesh, the fishers by the Department of Ocean Development (among complained that the sea had encroached quite a long others), showing radical changes in the bathymetry and distance inland and, in most cases, these losses were the oceanographic features of Bay of Bengal as a result permanent. of tsunami. These changes would have implications There were also reports of changes in the quality for the fisheries as they affect the behavioural patterns of beaches in some areas. In Koonimedu Kuppam in of fish, shifting or destroying their habitats as well as Villupuram district, the fishers reported that the clayey breeding and nursery grounds. areas near the shore had now become sandy (this was When the fishers restarted fishing in the post- reported to be the other way round in some tsunami period, they found good catches for the first Cuddalore villages). As evidence of the change in the two months11: May-June was a period when catches texture of land, they showed the example of coastal were reportedly good, which was explained as the vegetation (including coconut and Palmyra trees on result of extended periods of non-fishing in the coastal the beach), which was defoliating and dying. The fishers waters after the tsunami. rom July onwards, there even suspected that the chemical composition of the had been slump in fish catches, which was continuing waters in the nearshore waters might have undergone when this study was conducted. During September- some changes – this was reflected in a change of colour October, fishing had been so poor that fishers claimed of the waters – which might have contributed to a it was not worth spending any time on it. whole range of changes to everything in the sea. Consequently, many fishers were simply idling on the Many fishers on the Coromandel Coast contend shore, while their brand new RP boats sat waiting that the fishing grounds had changed as a result of on the beach. tsunami. There were complaints about the increase in There are reports that fish catches declined badly depth at the traditional fishing grounds and also about along the entire coast of Kerala, although the tsunami a change in the water currents and the tidal patterns in itself had only affected certain pockets within the state. the near-shore waters. At Chetti Nagar in Villupuram Even the monsoon-fishing ban, which was generally district, fishers had been fishing at an average depth followed by good landings of shrimp and other fish, of 8 fathoms before the tsunami, but were now had not improved the fish catches. Adding fuel to the reportedly fishing at 12-15 fathoms and similar suspicion about changes in the behavioural patterns experiences were related in many other villages. Many of fish, two new species – the red crabs and the puffer species of fish – particularly shrimp – were reportedly fish – appeared in large numbers in fish catches in the ‘relocated’ by the tsunami and the fishers had to seek state since the tsunami. The two species were quite new fishing grounds. destructive to the fishing gear and also dispersed the Given such perceptions at the fishers’ level, one other species from the near shore waters (which earned question that is quite important and yet has no certain them the nickname ‘CRP’ – the Central Reserve Police answers is whether the tsunami had an impact upon known for their dispersing tactics), adding a new

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dimension to the problem of poor catches. The the fisheries, as their catches had never been so bad as magnitude of the problem was such that it was a hot they were this year, particularly during peak fishing topic of subject of discussion in the local newspapers. seasons. November-December was the peak fishing The prevalence of red crabs had since declined, but period on the Coromandel Coast and the fishers the puffer fish continued to be a problem at the time suggested it would be the defining period to assess of the study. the impact of the tsunami on the resources. In the Contrary to the general perception elsewhere, the event, November was more or less washed out by fishers in Kanyakumari contended that the tsunami repeated floods to the various rivers in the state, which had no visible impact on the availability of fish and deterred the fishers from going to the sea, so the issue attributed the decline in catches to reduction in fishing remained unresolved. capacity. Obviously, this was a result of damage or All the same, as scientists urge, it may be too early loss of fishing boats and delays in repairing or to identify a relation between the tsunami and the replacing them. The tsunami also engendered a fear declines; it would require monitoring the situation over psychosis among the fishers about fishing in the sea, a few fishing seasons at least before some definite which would not allow fishers to take to fishing as conclusions can be drawn about it. eagerly as they used to and also forced them to keep isheries scientists as well as some experienced to ‘safer’ waters, i.e., nearshore waters, where catches fishers forecast another – more positive – outcome were necessarily low. In due course, as more boats from the tsunami. The vigorous churning of the waters became available and fishers gathered courage to move in the Bay of Bengal from top-to-bottom by the into deeper waters (or were pushed to seek new tsunami, they claim, contributed to an upwelling from fishing grounds due to competition), they reportedly the nutrient-rich benthic strata to the upper layers, found good catches. This was a trend that the fishers contributing to enhanced primary productivity, which believed would hold and their contention received might be reflected further down the food chain as an support from the fact that the availability and cost of increase in fish production over the coming years. The fish in the local markets remained the same as before post-tsunami period also saw repeated floods to most the tsunami. A cursory examination of the transactions rivers in the state; while their impacts upon the land of the fish marketing society in Colachel indicated and the people had been devastating, their effect on that there was a decline in the society’s business from the coastal fisheries resources was considered to be Rs. 25 lakhs in the first ten months of last year to less positive. It is thus possible that the fisheries in the state than Rs. 15 lakhs during the same period in 2005, but might see a boom in the coming years (H M Kasim, considering that there had been no fishing at all for pers.comm.). the first six months in the year, this might actually mean However, lacking more precise information, many that fish catches had improved in the region in the of these issues remain in the realm of hypothesis and post-tsunami period. there is a clear need for a thorough investigation as It is possible that fish declines on the Coromandel soon as possible. As far as could be ascertained, Coast and elsewhere were a continuing trend from however, no studies have yet begun to determine the the pre-tsunami period rather than an outcome of impact of the tsunami on the fish resources and its the tsunami. The reported declines in fish catches in possible consequences for the fisheries sector. some parts of Andhra Pradesh, for instance, were generally agreed by the fishers to be a continuance of Impact of the Tsunami on the Psyche of ishers the old trend. However, the fishers of the Coromandel The fishermen of Kanyakumari district, particularly Coast were quite clear that the tsunami did influence on the west coast, always prided themselves about

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their seafaring abilities and adventurousness, and with The changes in seasonality, in the wind and wave good reason too. The fishers of the Coromandel patterns and in the fisheries had meant that the Coast never doubted that they knew their sea, its indigenous knowledge the fishers had gained over the moods, the currents and the winds, and took pride in years was of no use to predict anything as the sea and explaining their knowledge of the sea at length, and its behaviour had become quite erratic. also with good reason. After all, they spent more time Some of the fishers (for e.g., in Akkaraipettai) upon the sea than on the shore and made a living out moved into land-based activities, including house of it. construction, although the same people would have But now, the fishers claimed, the sea was suddenly disdained such activities not very long ago. Even the alien to them. This alienation and the sudden distrust many categories of people who came into the village that had sprung between the people and the sea was a regularly – for fish trade and allied activities and for constant refrain in many villages. While there was various other purposes – confined their stay in the evidence that fishing operations were coming back to village to the daylight hours and returned before normalcy in several areas, fear psychosis continued to 5 pm. be a threat to resuming operations. And this was not confined to the men going to the sea; in fact, the Impact of the Tsunami on Social Networks women were far more vehement about their distrust In a closely integrated sector like fisheries, the sudden of the sea and insisted that the men confined their disappearance of a number of people from the scene operations to the closer shore waters. The men were – either due to death or due to moving away – must worried not so much by the fear of being caught in lead to serious imbalances and disruption of social another tsunami (the fishermen of Kallar actually networks. In Kallar village, people felt that the death boasted that even the tsunami could not do anything of 90 adults out of a total 600 (15 per cent of the to them when they were at sea; it was only on land population) was a big shock and loss in various ways; that they were helpless!) as by the apprehensions about in practical terms, it handicapped fisheries operations: the wellbeing of their families while they were away. there were not enough crew to operate the boats; This had also led to changes in the number of fishing there were fewer hands to help in launching and hauling days, depth and distance of fishing grounds, duration them; the fish processors were not able to find enough of fishing – all of which reflected in poor catches assistants and the women traders found it difficult to and low incomes. pool together and visit the markets in the

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neighbourhood for selling their fish. In some other of Rs. 5 lakhs). Provision was made for the mechanized villages, it was reported that the death of people also boat owners to obtain bank loans at subsidised rates changed the political configurations in the villages and for the balance amount necessary for undertaking new combinations emerged among the survivors, repair or reconstruction. In all cases, the Government’s swinging the power balance from one side to another. support was confined to providing monetary It might be instructive to see the impact of such assistance to the fishers. It also exempted payment of disruptions upon the life and livelihoods of several sales tax on the purchase of selected materials other categories of people, like the aged, children, the necessary in the repair and reconstruction of the boats single-women and so forth, but this was beyond the damaged by the tsunami12. scope of this study, which would however like to Besides the primary producers, the Government recommend this as a possible area to explore in the of Tamil Nadu also made provision for assistance to immediate future. aquaculture owners, fish transporters and ice- manufacturers; for repairing fishing harbours, jetties Rehabilitation of isheries-based and landing centres; dredging and related activities Livelihoods necessary for resumption of fishing; and for undertaking repairs to its boat building yards to Packages for Supporting isheries-based undertake repairs of boats. With long-term assistance Livelihoods from the World Bank (the Emergency Tsunami Tamil Nadu Reconstruction Project – ETRP) to the tune of $423 In Tamil Nadu, the Government made provision for million and from the Asian Development Bank (under replacing or repairing all fishing equipment damaged the Tsunami Emergency Assistance Project – TEAP) in the tsunami. The package for rehabilitation of to the tune of $143 million, the state government is fishing livelihoods included: replacing fishing nets for also undertaking restoration programmes related to vallams and kattamarams; repair of engines (both fisheries livelihoods, infrastructure and capacity outboard and inboard); and assistance for repair or building. reconstruction of vallams and kattamarams, with the The response from the civil society organizations quantum of assistance being 100 per cent of the unit (CSOs) – both international and national – to the cost in case of wooden kattamarams and 50 per cent tsunami was staggering. Many local NGOs received in case of replacement of RP vallams and partnership assistance from a number of international kattamarams. The assistance to the mechanized sector and national funding agencies and it was reported that was confined to 60 per cent in case of repairs (subject in the period from January to June 2005, about 650 to a maximum of Rs. 3 lakhs) and to 35 per cent in NGOs/INGOs have put in their share of relief and case of fully damaged or lost boats (up to a maximum rehabilitation work in the 13 tunami-affected districts

170 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings India Country Report in various parts of the country13. Although figures are affected people. Of the total requirement for hard to come by, i is estimated that at least Rs. 4–5000 compensating the losses of the fishers in the state, crores would have gone into the INGOs/NGOs for assessed at Rs. 13.91 crores, the State Government tsunami relief and rehabilitation services. Much of the released Rs. 13.86 crores for replacement and repair CSO assistance for rehabilitation of fisheries-related of fishing implements. ifty per cent of the assistance livelihood took the form of providing boats, mainly for boats and nets was originally intended to be given of the RP motorized category. Some self-help group as a loan, but this led to protests and it is not known (SHG) initiatives were promoted among women, how the matter was finally resolved. The lists of besides strengthening the existing ones and there were beneficiaries took a long while to prepare, and as on also a few initiatives to develop alternative/ 1st of July, i.e., a full six months after the tsunami, the supplementary livelihoods, targeting the rural youth. assistance released was only about 40 per cent of the Although less documented, the existing social sanctioned sum. There were also many allegations networks in the fishing communities often played a about misappropriation funds, leading to much crucial role in the relief and rehabilitation work in many confusion and lack of clarity on the rehabilitation in areas. The informal panchayats and other local the state. rom the information available, it appears community groups helped the victims by extending that the rehabilitation support included assistance for immediate assistance, by ensuring that everyone was repair and replacement of fishing crafts and engines, properly accounted for in the relief and rehabilitation provision of nets and working capital assistance. and by regularly following up with the rehabilitation In the NGO sector, many agencies also provided agencies. At least some processors and traders also boats, engines and nets to the fishers, mostly on a managed to get back into business with the money group-ownership basis. Other interventions included: they had received from the caste panchayats, which had setting up self-help groups among the women; collected a share from the compensation paid by the assistance in setting up small businesses in several areas; government for lost or damaged boats in the village and helping the youth in taking up alternate (while the persons who’d lost them would often get employment in construction and other sectors. the assets replaced by the NGOs) and from auctioning the new boats and other assets that the NGOs Andhra Pradesh provided in the villages. This was redistributed among Although the actual losses and the rehabilitation the villagers and came handy in restarting fishing and measures were quite small in Andhra Pradesh, the trade14. interesting thing about the tsunami rehabilitation The private sector also played a crucial, and programmes was the institutional framework that had similarly unrecognised, role in the rehabilitation of the been put in place to channel support to the affected affected people. The fact that many categories of people. The World Bank-aided Andhra Pradesh Rural fishers (especially in the post-harvest sector) could Livelihoods Programme, ‘Velugu’, was the nodal stand on their feet after the tsunami owed as much to agency for rehabilitation of tsunami-affected fishing the moneylenders and trader-financiers as to the relief communities in the state and it did the loss assessment and rehabilitation support extended by the government and beneficiary selection for tsunami rehabilitation and the CSOs. Besides, the corporate sector in India with the technical assistance of the Department of also contributed significantly to the rehabilitation isheries. The Velugu women’s groups in the villages efforts both directly (to the tune of US$ 8 million) acted as channels for extending support to the affected and through contributions to the Prime Minister’s people and in several villages, new women’s groups National Relief und (to the tune of US$ 9.2 million). were formed to ensure adequate coverage of the affected people. This had implications in different Kerala directions, which are discussed later. Matsyafed, the co-operative federation in Kerala, was In the rehabilitation phase, Velugu made made the nodal agency for rehabilitation measures in arrangements for in situ repair of damaged boats. The the coastal areas affected by the tsunami and assigned cost of repairs – ranging between Rs. 1500 and the task of distribution of fishing implements to the Rs. 2000 per boat – was borne by Velugu and was

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made through the women’s groups. Boats that were rise to a need among the NGOs to seek out new lost or fully damaged were replaced with new boats, beneficiaries for providing boats. Many boats thus mostly of RP make, and this was done on a group- went to groups of former crewmembers ostensibly ownership basis. Three-quarters of the cost of the to enhance their asset base and ensure equitable boats was subsidised by Velugu, while the rest was distribution of assets; at least in a few cases, it was an given as a loan. The responsibility for ensuring excuse to provide more boats than were necessary. In repayment of the loan component was vested with some villages in Cuddalore and Villupuram, boats were the Velugu women’s groups. Replacement of lost nets also given to women groups. There were reports in was also done very early on to enable fishers to Kanyakumari of some fishers receiving more than undertake fishing immediately and the cost of one boat each, which was justified on the ground that replacement was subsidised by the Government. the seasonal diversification of fishing activity and The NGO contribution to the fisheries migration necessitated the fishers to have two boats rehabilitation in the state remained rather low-key and for fishing in two different environments. involved provision of a few boats on group- There was a manifold increase in the numbers ownership basis. There were a few interventions for of the RP crafts on the Coromandel Coast (especially supporting women, but the overall scale of NGO in Nagapattinam and Cuddalore districts) in the post- involvement was not high. tsunami period, although it would be very difficult to find out exactly how many boats had been really given Issues Related to Restoration of Boats and almost impossible to compare them with their In all three States, restoration of fisheries-livelihoods previous strength. In Kanyakumari, the number of was taken to be synonymous with provision of fishing boats might not be as high as on the Coromandel boats. Of the three broad categories of fishing boats Coast and might also be less than originally proposed, in existence, i.e., artisanal (non-motorized), motorized but it is very sure that they would be higher than their and mechanized, boats of the intermediate category pre-tsunami number. Also, the fact that many new (motorized RP boats15) dominated the rehabilitation RP boats were still being constructed at dozens of packages. There was a strong feeling among the boatyards that had sprung up in Kanyakumari, agencies and individuals involved in rehabilitation – Nagapattinam and Marakkanam areas indicates that supported by evidence in several villages – that the the boat programmes still had some way to go before extent of support for RP motorized boats was more running out of steam. than adequate to replace the losses. The replacement of boats in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh had been within limits. The number of boats RP Motorized Boats lost in these states was small to begin with, and the In Tamil Nadu, the government made detailed rehabilitation packages were unlikely to add assessments of losses and allotted funds for repair or significantly to the existing numbers. There was replacement of all boats damaged/destroyed/lost in relatively little NGO activity in these states, which kept the tsunami. The procedures for obtaining the flow of funds into the sector rather low-key. compensation were rigorous and most of the money However, in both these states, there was a possibility did go to the people – indicating that a sizeable that the surplus boats in Tamil Nadu would be sold proportion of boats could have been rehabilitated with to the local fishers (subject, of course, to the suitability government support (even after discounting ‘leakages’). of the designs and shapes to the local context and In reality, the damaged boats were produced for also the quality of the boats being to the satisfaction collecting the compensations, which were generally of the buyers), which might add to the overall fleet pocketed, while the NGOs supplied new boats to strength, but the conditions prevailing in the sector in the fishers. This was the reason for the continued these two states would indicate that investments on presence of damaged boats on the beaches in some the new boats might not be high. villages. Wooden Kattamarams and Other Artisanal The Government’s support for repair and Boats reconstruction of boats lost in the tsunami had given The emphasis on RP boats in the rehabilitation

172 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings India Country Report packages meant that many of the wooden kattamarams Also, as Bavinck (2001:96) suggests, there was the destroyed/damaged in the tsunami were not repaired comfort factor that characterised working on a or replaced and there was a decline in their numbers, motorized boat, which would make it very painful to or even total disappearance in some areas revert to the old systems. Thus, if the cost of (Muralidharan, pers.comm.), in the post-tsunami operations with the RP boats kept going up, they period. might take to some adaptations like longer fishing trips In Tamil Nadu, the Government paid out all to save fuel or use smaller engines etc., and would go kattamaram damages in full and it was possible that back to kattamaram only as a last resort. both the numbers of boats compensated and the amount paid was quite generous. That the fishers did The Mechanized Sector not need to attach proof to their claims relating to In Tamil Nadu, support to the mechanized sector was the loss of a kattamaram meant that the real numbers confined to government’s compensation for repairs of boats lost might be less than those for which and replacement. There was a clamour from the compensation had been claimed. Yet, very few mechanized boat owners for payment of the wooden kattamarams were really replaced, and compensation without the necessity to repair/replace according to some estimates, the number of wooden the boats. This was because, for many people, the kattamarams now was only 40 per cent of their pre- need for taking a sizeable bank loan to replace the tsunami strength, although there was really no easy boat was a risky proposition, particularly in the context way to confirm this. One argument in support of the of poor fishing over the years. Many of the boat shift to RP boats was that availability of wood was owners were also reportedly over 50 years of age a constraint for building kattamarams in the required and did not like the idea of spending the rest of their number. life with the burden of loan repayment hanging heavy The drastic increase in RP motorized boats in over their heads (Praxis, 2005:68). Many of the boats many villages in Tamil Nadu raises questions about had outstanding debts to the export companies and the continued survival of the wooden kattamarams. commission agents and putting a repaired boat (or a Many fishers and NGO functionaries were of the new boat) back into operations meant that the owners opinion that it might be a matter of time before the would have to allow the old debts to be revived, which wooden kattamaram would vanish from the would not be the case if they simply moved out of Coromandel Coast. On the other hand, such gloomy fishing altogether. The insistence of the banks for prognoses (which had been made time and again security (the boats did not count as collateral) was about the old survivor) were belied by the poor quality another constraint, as also the bureaucratic hassles of the new RP boats provided (as well as the involved in obtaining a bank loan, which had not increased costs they’d entail), indicating that the fishers lessened after the tsunami despite assurances to the would require to invest in new boats sooner rather contrary. The growing unrest among the fishing crew, than later and, lacking the necessary wherewithal, at which was manifested in many places (including least some of them would be forced to go back to Pondicherry) in the demand for a share in the the kattamaram. Already, in villages like Kallar, it was compensation received for repairs and replacement said that a contingent of fishers was planning to visit of boats and went on to become a serious issue Kerala in November to obtain kattamaram-grade threatening to destroy the social organization in many Albyzzia wood. fishing villages (Nambiar Nagar, Akkaraipettai etc.), But the return to wooden kattamaram, as the also made some boat owners uneasy about continuing fishers observed, would not be easy. Speed was an in the sector. important requirement for surviving in a highly In the event, the Tamil Nadu Government refused competitive environment and in a context where a to relax the provisions for paying compensation and large number of boats were chasing a few fish, those insisted on the boats being replaced/repaired in order who reached the fishing grounds first would have for the fishers to receive the money. In many senses, access to the best catches, and so they could not afford this was a lost opportunity. Still, it is possible that several not to use engines to rush to the fishing grounds first. mechanized boat owners managed to get the

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compensation money without actually opting for new reported by the fishers to have come into the villages boats. Some of the former mechanized boat owners were often so low as to make one wonder where thus managed to get RP motorized boats from the could all those new boats have gone. In the northern NGO rehabilitation programmes, while others Coromandel Coast too, one heard complaints about diversified into shore-based activities (mainly fish trade not getting enough boats, in spite of strong evidence and ancillary activities related to fishing). This may have to the contrary in the form of brand new RP boats led to an overall decrease in the number of mechanized sitting in long rows along the beaches. boats in some areas and the reduction in this sector in Still, to the extent that the assessment of the losses places like Nagapattinam was put at 30 percent, which was accurate, one could say that the post-tsunami must however be understood in the context of the investments on rehabilitation were adequate and even fact that there had existed a surplus capacity of over exceeded the actual losses in several areas, as some 50 per cent in the mechanized sector in the state micro-level studies (for e.g., Thaddeus, 2005) clearly (Narayana Kumar, pers.com.), meaning that there was showed, although this would be very difficult to a net surplus capacity in the sector after the tsunami. quantify at the state-level for various reasons. In terms On the other hand, many new boats (including of fisheries-related investments, given the proliferation some steel boats) were still being built in the state. of RP motorized boats and the generous The fact that a ‘steel barge’ costs nearly Rs 25 lakhs compensation for kattamarams and vallams, there was and yet there were reportedly some 25 boats under an overall increase in investments within these construction in the area was a paradox that could not segments as well as in the sector as a whole. In case be explained by the fishers any more than they could of shelter, considering the previous condition of a explain why there should be such a clamour for more majority of the habitations in the fishing villages, it RP boats when (as they repeatedly asserted) the was certain that the new programmes would mean a existing ones had been facing rough weather for a quantum leap in the size of investments on this front long time. It is very likely that many of these boats – too. This generalisation applies to Andhra Pradesh and like their older counterparts – would be put into Kerala as well. operation in the Palk Bay and off the Sri Lankan At the micro-level, the issue of adequacy of waters, rather than compete with the other fishing assistance was not often easy to resolve because, as systems for the inshore waters (at least in the short several fishers (for instance, in Arcotthurai and in term). Keezha Manakudy) argued, in a situation where they Post-tsunami, there were a few proposals to were effectively recipients of charity, it was not really convert some of the mechanized boats on an appropriate to raise questions about the adequacy of experimental basis to target the yellow-fin tuna (YT) support. There was also the problem that ‘adequacy’ and other offshore resources. But the changeover was a difficult state to achieve, especially in the fisheries would require considerable investment, which makes context, because of the short lifespan of the tools the whole idea a dicey proposition for many boat used and the prevailing lack of understanding about owners, particularly in a context where the availability how the systems operated in a ‘normal’ context16. as well as the marketability of YT was still an untested Thus, to the extent that the support was aimed at hypothesis. replacing the lost assets, it might not be appropriate Adequacy of Rehabilitation Assistance for Boats to discuss about the adequacy of support. But where In districts like Nagapattinam, the boat owners the rehabilitation brought about a change in the mode expressed their satisfaction with the numbers of boats of operations for the fishers, it would be necessary to provided. In fact, in some Cuddalore villages like discuss how adequate the support had been as Pudukuppam, the fishers complained that giving so otherwise it would be difficult for the fishers to adjust many boats was of no use to them as fishing in the to the new set of conditions that the new operations area was poor anyway. In Kanyakumari, the fishers imposed upon them. The major change for most constantly complained about not receiving enough fishers involved shifting from wooden kattamarams boats, notwithstanding the existence of huge numbers to motorized RP boats, from being crewmembers of new boats on their beaches. The numbers of boats to joint-owners, the adequacy of support

174 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings India Country Report received in this particular instance would need to be that they had to keep investing in the hope that fishing discussed. would stabilise in due course and start paying back. In most cases, the provision of engines and nets Many new boat owners had to turn to the was not commensurate with the numbers of boats moneylenders for meeting their investment needs, and provided. In some cases, the NGOs provided their restart the cycle that had made them poor in the first quota of boats and left an area, leaving the fishers to place. Here too, the old relationships between the find their own resources to obtain nets and engines. former boat owners and the trader-financiers helped There were often questions about the usefulness of them to obtain loans more easily while such help was the nets provided because of their poor quality, more difficult to come by for the new boat owners. inadequacy and, frequently, inappropriateness. The Problems were also reported with engines in fishers often received nets that had no use for them: Arcotthurai, which were clarified (by the local dealer) some managed to exchange the nets for more to be due to the installation of a new type of gearbox. appropriate varieties, but not all could do so. The nets There were problems with gearbox, nozzle and the often reached the fishers only after the right season silencer and as a result, the consumption of fuel for using them had come and gone; they would be increased. In Kanyakumari, the fishers’ complaints useless until next year and the fishers still had to buy related to poor quality of engine manufacture. nets appropriate for the current season. That this was Considering that complaints about engines were a mainly a problem of the new boat owners was regular feature in the motorized sector (the engines apparent from the fact that other people who had had never really worked properly at sea), this might been boat owners and obtained boats again could also be a case of continuation of the old story, rather restart operations sooner by getting their old nets than to be solely blamed upon the tsunami and the mended and their damaged engines repaired. rehabilitation programmes. In Andhra Pradesh, the nodal agencies – Velugu and the Department of isheries – organized Issues Related to Targeting exhibitions where net-manufacturing companies People Who Missed the Boat displayed their wares and the fishers had a chance to Although the numbers of boats provided overall was place orders for themselves for specific nets suitable more than adequate, it is possible however that their for their operations (subject to a maximum limit in spread was not uniform across the coast: while some value). Thus, there were few complaints about nets in villages received more than their due, there still were Andhra Pradesh. In Tamil Nadu too, some NGOs some where the needs were not fully met. It is also did organise such events, but overall, the responsibility possible that, at least in some cases, the people who for selecting and distributing nets to the fishers lay benefited from the rehabilitation support had not with the NGOs. always been those who had lost boats in the tsunami. The provision of motorized boats also led to a What this means is that while the overall numbers might need among the people for immediate working capital have gone up, there might still be some gaps at the (mainly for fuel) to start fishing. This was exacerbated micro-level. This study identified three categories of by the fact that the new RP motorized boats boasted people who failed to obtain support from the higher horse-powered engines (9-10 Hp in place of rehabilitation programmes. the 5-7 Hp in the past), which would increase the efficiency of the boats, but also add to the cost of Absentees operations. This was clearly a burden because, for one Several people had abandoned their villages in the thing, many of the new boat owners had been immediate aftermath of the tsunami, fearing a crewmembers or just moved up from being owners recurrence of the tidal waves and spent a few weeks of non-motorized kattamarams, and naturally had little in the interior and it was during this period that the money to invest in fuel and other necessities. The long loss assessments were made, thus leaving them out. period of waiting on the beaches also diminished their Such people were often only a small proportion in a investment potential. When they did manage to restart village: for instance, in Mulukuthurai (in Killai area) in operations, extended periods of lean fishing meant Cuddalore district, eight out of 113 families had been

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left out. But taken together, they added up to a sizeable and the impacts were felt on a number of downstream number and it could also be argued that their small activities. numbers would be a constraint to making themselves known or heard. A few managed to get into the Migrant ishers in Andhra Pradesh rehabilitation lists subsequently, but the existence of a Perhaps the worst affected group of people in few more families who still required rehabilitation Andhra Pradesh by the tsunami was the migrant fishers. assistance was a constant complaint in several villages. December was the month when seasonal short-term In some instances, the village panchayats were taking migration would be at its peak in the north and central steps to share the assistance received by the other zones of coastal Andhra Pradesh (East Godavari and members of the community with those who had been Visakhapatnam districts, in particular) and many left out. migrants, some with their families, were residing in makeshift tents on the beaches quite far from their People in Shadow Zones homes at the time of tsunami. Many lost their The region northwards from Villupuram district up temporary shelters along with everything they to Chennai is in the ‘shadow zone’ of tsunami, it did contained. Their boats were damaged and fish kept not suffer spectacular damages like Nagapattinam and out to dry were washed away in large quantities. The the number of deaths was not as high as in other unique conditions that characterise the migrant lifestyle districts, so there were complaints that the extent of in the new areas meant that information about their assistance to this zone had been less. Clearly, the loss wellbeing was not easily available to the relief agencies, of boats and nets, landing centres and other which hampered timely aid from reaching them. Post- infrastructure in this zone was as significant and tsunami, the migrant fishers found themselves largely debilitating as in the others, but received less attention bypassed in the rehabilitation programmes: neither the as the focus had been mainly on the worst affected villages where they came from, nor the villages, on districts like Cuddalore and Nagapattinam17. the fringes of which they had been residing at the In Kerala, in the village most affected by the time of the tsunami, refused to include their losses in tsunami in Alappuzha district, Aratupuzha, only three the official lists as both feared that doing so would wards (later reorganised into four) were officially reduce the quantum of assistance to their local designated as being affected by the tsunami, which constituencies. meant that the people living in the other wards in the Interventions Aimed at ish Processors and same village were unable to access to rehabilitation Traders support, even though they had individually suffered In Tamil Nadu, in the rush to provide boats to the as badly as the people in the affected areas. Yet another fishermen, the needs of the other players in production category of people who could not make it to the lists and market chains generally took a back seat. in the same village in Kerala were the fishers who had Notwithstanding some excellent micro-level been affected by the aftershocks of the tsunami, which documentation about diverse categories of people in followed a few months after the actual event and did the sector18, there were few systematic efforts to sizeable damage to houses and fishing implements, understand their livelihood-specific needs and address but the victims of the aftershocks could not get them meaningfully. There were indeed some recognition as tsunami-affected and thus failed to programmes that targeted some of the people directly obtain support. There were promises of a ‘second or indirectly, but their scope, coverage, relevance and list’ of tsunami victims to be prepared ‘in due course’. effectiveness remained uncertain. Then there were the people who were not directly This might have partly to do with the ‘tsunami- affected by the tsunami, but who suffered indirectly centred’ approach to rehabilitation, which focused on from its consequences. or instance, fishworkers the specific losses suffered by different people in the organizations in Kerala were of the opinion that the tsunami, notwithstanding the prevalence of ‘social tsunami affected fish catches very badly by upsetting equity’ arguments for giving boats to the the benthic ecosystems. A majority of fishermen in crewmembers. Partly, the reasons were also historical: the state had reportedly remained idle since the tsunami many of the people in the production and marketing

176 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings India Country Report chains had largely remained invisible from the policy related activities (for e.g., basket weavers), who perspective. Yet another reason appeared to be that a depended for their survival on the fisheries sector all majority of the people in the production and market the same. A majority of them came from poor and chains came from economically weaker sections, which working class backgrounds and worked for daily meant that their investments were miniscule compared wages. At least a third of the people belonged to non- to, say, investments in the boat sector, particularly in a fishing castes (mainly dalits). The shore-based workers context where huge amounts of money needed to be outnumbered active fishers by 4:1, but at other times spent quickly. As one fisherman leader from Nambiar (and in many other areas) the ratio could go up to 7:1 Nagar suggested, “It is always easier to give one RP or more. Many ancillary workers on the beach – boat than to distribute the sum among 30-40 women.” carpenters, mechanics, fish-cutters, ice-sellers and Put simply, it was not often cost-effective to address crushers, fish transporters etc – lost their tools of trade their needs. as well as the money they had with them on that fateful The fact was that the investments of the fish day. A few did get some assistance, but it was random traders – often ranging across Rs. 2-5 thousand – were and sporadic. small from the point of view of the donors, but not from The trouble with leaving out such groups of that of the people themselves. or many traders, it people was not only that it reduced their sustainability was all they had to survive on and it certainly meant a of their livelihoods, but also had implications on the lot to them. Their level of operations was such that production and market chains and weakened them. an additional income of Rs. 30 a day often meant a This would, as was apparent in some Cuddalore 50 per cent increase in their returns. On the other hand, villages, ultimately affect the primary producers (who extended periods of not being able to ply their trade had largely been the main target of the rehabilitation meant consuming their working capital and falling programmes) by reducing their access to inputs, behind in their trade. Also, apart from such hand-to- services and markets. If this had not become a big mouth categories, there were also some people – dry issue so far, it was because of poor fishing in many fish producers, for instance – who did lose substantially areas, but it was clear that the weakening of links in by any consideration. Some of these large-scale the production and market chains would become processors in major fish landing centres in Tamil Nadu serious once fishing operations gained momentum. (like Akkiraipettai) were from Kerala, who employed Many such categories of people got back into the local people to buy and process fish for them. business with borrowed money. The money provided Many of these processors sustained major losses to as part of relief packages also helped a few of them their enterprises, but these losses remained un- to survive and even reinvest the savings in their quantified and un-addressed. This was reflected in the businesses, but social networks appear to have been collapse of some large-scale activities, with downward the best support for many of the ancillary traders to implications for the livelihoods of poorer people who get back into business. or instance, the bicycle fish worked as processors’ assistants etc. transporters in Nagapattinam, who helped to carry Similarly, the lack of interest in supporting the fish from the landing centres to the processing mechanized sector also extended to the large numbers areas for the women, received money from their clients of poor people depending upon the mechanized boat to buy their bicycles; the interesting part is that the landings for a living, which meant that a sizeable women themselves had borrowed the money from number of people working in the fishing harbours local moneylenders and needed to repay it too. Local remained largely out of the pale of rehabilitation networks of social support – including ‘sell first-and- efforts. or example, on an early October morning in pay later’ mechanisms – helped several people to stand 2005, this team counted over 27 categories of people upon their feet again. involved in various activities at Nagapattinam fishing On the other hand, there was evidence that the harbour. These included traders, intermediaries, fish numbers of fresh fish vendors was increasing in several processors, ancillary workers (transporters etc.), locations with the daughters and wives of the fishers technical people (boat builders, engine mechanics etc.), who had died in the tsunami venturing into the activity. besides a number of people involved in non-fishing Being ‘fresh’ entrants, they would not be considered

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as victims of the tsunami and their investment needs taking prominence in the programmes. Many new were met either from the compensation received from programmes were reported to be coming up over the death of the men or from the private sector. the next year to address women’s needs more In Andhra Pradesh and Kerala too, the meaningfully. rehabilitation efforts were marked by lack of attention In Andhra Pradesh, the involvement of women’s to people other than those actively involved in fishing. groups set up under the ongoing Velugu programme led to serious problems as the men were upset with Interventions Aimed at Women and People of the women playing a dominant role in rehabilitation Non-fishing Communities19 ignoring the usual channels like co-operatives. The On the Coromandel Coast, the fact that the women hurried formation of new women’s groups to cover and people of non-fishing castes were not members everyone in the villages in the rehabilitation of the caste panchayats restricted opportunities for programmes may have compromised the original developing need-based interventions specifically aimed objectives of the Velugu programme itself, while at them. In their anxiety to obtain as many boats as people who could not become members of the possible, the leaders of caste panchayats also groups (widowers, for instance) were upset at being exaggerated the losses to their boats while left out. The men’s antagonism to the involvement of underplaying those of women and other categories. women seemed to have come down subsequently, The fact that many women in fish trade and processing but the effectiveness of the women’s groups as a came from single-headed households (for example, conduit for channelling development support – though single women constituted 60-70 per cent of the traders admirable in a theoretical sense – remains doubtful in in Poompuhar; the Praxis studies in several villages the long term. also reinforce this view)20 made their case even weaker because they had no representative to talk for them in Infrastructure in isheries the panchayat. At the same time, rather ironically, some In Tamil Nadu, the Government was the main investor women groups and dalits had been provided with in this important area and it drew up elaborate plans boats in some districts like Cuddalore and Villupuram. to develop basic infrastructure related to fisheries in The implications of this would be discussed in the many areas and, wisely, accommodated the tsunami- next chapter. related needs into their long-term strategies for fisheries In Kanyakumari district, long history of working development (see, for example, the Policy Note of with women groups helped the NGOs to extend some the isheries Department outlining plans for 2005-6). meaningful support to them. This was because the It was suggested that the savings that the Government NGOs had a good understanding of the women’s had made because of the active collaboration of the needs; besides, they also had to use the existing groups NGOs (mainly in the shelter activity) went into to channel support to the communities, which they construction of roads and other basic infrastructure. could not do without ensuring that the women also Generally, construction of roads, bridges and other benefited. The fact that the NGOs (including the basic infrastructure was speeded up in the aftermath church-based ones) had a long-term stake in the of the tsunami. There was a definite improvement in wellbeing of the communities in the area ensured that the infrastructure in many villages and many remote the interventions were more need-based and villages now had better access to roads, communication appropriate, although this was not always possible to facilities and transport systems. This would help in achieve in the face of much rehabilitation assistance times of emergency, but more importantly, in ensuring coming from outside. quicker marketability of the fish catches, thus adding Overall, as the programmes for giving boats were to their incomes. beginning to decelerate towards the end of the year In Kerala, the post-tsunami period saw a flurry of and the NGOs were settling down to long-term activities on the infrastructure front: the construction engagements with the communities, there were of the fishing harbour in Alappad was expedited and indications that activities focusing on women and other there were also proposals to build new bridges to categories of people in the sector (and beyond it) were connect the relatively inaccessible villages to the

178 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings India Country Report mainland. There was also a proposal to build a sea access to ice would need to be properly addressed wall right along the coast to protect the villages from while promoting the use of ice. There would also be the sea ingress during monsoons. Although work on a need to understand the economies of scale before these activities had begun, it was reported to be setting up ice plants anywhere. moving at a snail’s pace (see John Swamy’s note, The Tsunami in Kerala). Credit in isheries However, much of the existing and proposed Access to credit was a crucial need and an integral infrastructure in fisheries fell into the conventional component of many fisheries-related activities and patterns and there was a need for reorientation at two unfortunately, this had not received much attention in levels: firstly, the rapid changes happening in the the post-tsunami rehabilitation programmes. It was international trade and quality control regimes would asserted by a number of the respondents met during necessitate building or upgrading the infrastructure this study that investments in developing sustainable with the present and future international demands for credit systems could have significantly reduced seafood in mind. Secondly, the infrastructure would vulnerability of fishers and enhanced their incomes need to be livelihood-centred, i.e., focusing upon the manifold. needs of a number of livelihood groups involved in Notwithstanding tall promises made in the the sector rather than being commodity-centred; in aftermath of the tsunami, most fishers complained other words, keeping in mind that the infrastructure- that access to institutional credit remained as bleak as related needs of the traditional fish processors would before. Even the mechanized boat owners had serious be very different from those of the shrimp exporters. problems in obtaining bank loans and at least a few The NGOs could play an important role in this. of them reported to have dropped the idea of getting Also, management and maintenance of their boats rebuilt because of the unfriendly attitude infrastructure had traditionally been a major bottleneck of the bankers. or several others, the long in many areas. The fact the government had set it up bureaucratic process of sanctioning the loans had would be taken to mean that the Government must meant that they were still waiting to receive the money also manage and maintain it, while people confined at the time of this study. In Arcotthurai, it was said themselves to taking advantage of it as long as it was that the banks insisted on collateral security for functional. The poor state of several public structures sanctioning loans and did not budge even when the was a direct result of this attitude and there is a need Department of isheries officers offered to stand for setting up user-based management and surety for repayment21. maintenance systems for the proper upkeep of the One important intervention targeted at the infrastructure in the villages, which – if properly women in the post-tsunami period was the formation implemented, might even pave way for the of Self Help Groups (SHGs) in the villages. There communities taking care of their future infrastructure was much competition to form SHGs among the needs on their own. Obviously, this is easier said than NGOs, which resulted in a profusion of SHGs in done, but is well worth trying now when ‘user-pays’ many villages. At the end of November 2005, it was principles are becoming practical realities. reported that there were some 4150 new SHGs spread There was also a perception in districts like over all the Tsunami affected villages22. The assistance Nagapattinam that the tsunami had helped promote provided to the women in SHGs varied from group the use of ice in different activities in the sector. It to group, ranging from Rs. 1-2 thousand per member, was felt likely that everyone would start using ice in which – the women complained – was barely due course in a big way. While increased use of ice sufficient to meet their consumption needs, leaving would add to the fishers’ incomes, it would be nothing to restart businesses and pay back the necessary to understand the full implications of such loan component. This led to a rather predictable developments before promoting the idea. Questions pattern to SHG membership in villages like about the possible negative consequences of increased Thammanampettai in Cuddalore, where each woman usage of ice for other people (say, traditional fish became a member of three SHGs (set up by the three processors) and about who would have control over NGOs working in the village). In bigger villages like

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Devanampattinam, it was reported that the women majority of fishers continued to be indebted to could become members of more SHGs because there informal moneylenders paying extortionate rates of were more NGOs working there. This helped the interest. It was equally clear that, barring an unexpected women in the short term, but the implications for the turn of events like the tsunami, a majority of them sustainability of SHGs in these villages would be a do repay one way or another as otherwise it would cause for concern. not have been possible for the informal lending Informal credit was assuming importance again systems to survive for so long and even flourish, which in every village. Primary producers (who needed gives the lie to the oft-repeated contention that the money for nets and working capital) as well as post- fishers were compulsive defaulters. harvest workers had begun to depend on Under the circumstances, as several people have moneylenders (and, to a much lesser extent, on traders) suggested, it might have been a wise move on the to restart their operations. At the same time, access to part of the NGOs to think along the lines of setting informal credit itself had reportedly come down in up new channels (or at least strengthening the existing the post-tsunami period. The cost of credit too had ones) to make credit affordable and accessible to the gone up. This was said to be due to losses suffered by different categories of people in the sector. It was moneylenders themselves, who now viewed the sector reported that some innovative credit programmes as risk prone. The traders and commission agents, (mainly through SHGs) were being implemented in who supplied to the credit needs of the fishers, lost many parts of Coromandel Coast, but information their investments and received no compensation at about them was rather sketchy. It might take some all, but it was possible that their investments had begun time to establish appropriate systems to suit the to come down even before the tsunami. fisheries sector, but it would be well worth the time Petty traders and other people with very small and effort because, going by available evidence, operations, whose main source of credit was hand enhancing access to credit at affordable costs would, loans from neighbours and friends, reported that they even without any other changes to the status quo in found it difficult to get hand loans nowadays because the sector, very likely enhance incomes of a wide cross- there was little money in the villages and everyone section of the people. was in need of making investments themselves. At the same time, while there was some Women in Cuddalore and Kanyakumari reported to justification in discouraging institutional finance for have pledged their gold ornaments to get loans. Kandu providing boats (although putting the blame for non- vaddi, the system that involved paying daily interest repayment entirely on the fishers was ignoring the was back in most villages and as one informant in complexity of the issue), there still were a large Anumandai Kuppam in Villupuram put it: number of other people in the sector who never had “Depending on the kind of loan taken, we have a access to institutional credit and who would retinue of moneylenders visiting us at regular intervals: undoubtedly benefit from it if only the systems for there is a daily moneylender, a weekly one and a credit delivery and recovery were developed to suit monthly one and so forth. We take money from one the unique conditions that characterised their activities. to pay the other, so the same money gets to be rotated The tsunami gave opportunity for the first time to while we are increasingly pauperised!” The rates of make institutional credit available to marginalized interest varied from 2 per cent to 5 per cent per month, groups within fishing communities, (which – going with the boat owners paying the lower rate while the by the experience of mechanized boat owners – might poorer fish traders paying the higher interest. Some have turned out to be another tall promise), but the traders also borrowed short-term loans, which would avenue did not seem to have been explored at all. be repaid the next day along with an interest of up to 10 percent. or a petty fish trader, payment in interest Disaster Preparedness and Sea Safety Issues amounted to between 25 and 60 per cent of her Unlike in the case of other recent disasters (Andhra income. Pradesh in 1996 and Orissa in 1999, to name just two), Thus, it was clear that in spite of much support the tsunami did not seem to have given rise to many going into the sector in the post-tsunami period, a disaster preparedness (DP) programmes. This was

180 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings India Country Report perhaps understandable because one could not be be sustainable, it was felt necessary to include it in the prepared for a mega-disaster like tsunami (which was regular community development programmes like also, going by the historical trends, a once-in-a lifetime livelihood support packages, but in practice, this was event). However, this might also mean that the not happening. tsunami took hold of people’s imagination to an The tsunami showed up the gross inadequacies extent that the other regular visitors to the coasts like in the current knowledge about many things related cyclones had taken a backseat. Places like to the fisheries sector and the people in it. An important Nagapattinam still remained as vulnerable to a future constraint that people kept facing in both relief and disaster as they had been in December 2004, and the rehabilitation phases had been in terms of not finding floods in November highlighted the urgent need to reliable and appropriate data about the affected develop multi-hazard response plans for coping with communities. It was clear that a good information future disasters in a typically low-lying area like system was absolutely essential for coping with future Nagapattinam. disasters. There were some initiatives in Nagapattinam Historically, security concerns had made the district, such as NCRC Village Information Centres, Government impose restrictions on installing shore- which were trying to address this need at different to-vessel communications systems and the restrictions levels and although it was still too early to assess their remained in force at the time of the study. This meant effectiveness (many of them had not been fully that the boats could not carry any communication functional), it was clear that they could show the way systems onboard, hence remained vulnerable to forward for other districts too. By being located at natural disasters at sea. According to the officers of the micro-level, they had the potential to collect as the Department of isheries, the same restrictions also well as disseminate information, which would make affected the promotion of offshore fishing in the area; them very efficient disaster warning centres in the long even though the fishers were interested, it would not term. be possible without installing GPS and advanced communication systems onboard. In an era of isheries Management cellphones and satellite phones, the ban was really Prior to the tsunami, the fisheries sector had been superfluous to contain the threat from Sri Lanka, but characterised by over-capacity, which contributed to it remained a major barrier to enhancing the sea safety the overexploitation of the fisheries, with negative of the fishers. consequences all round. While there had been There were some reports about the introduction proposals and programmes to reduce fleet strengths of community radio by NGOs in some areas, which and strengthen the coastal resource management would be worth exploring and, if successful, systems, these could not be implemented for a variety promoting along the coast. There were also some new of reasons. The sorry state of affairs was reflected in initiatives by the international and national the fact that there had not existed a mechanism to organizations, often in collaboration with one another, register (or even keep count of) the boats operating which began to take a close look at the issue of sea in the coastal waters. safety in an integrated manner, training people, The tsunami, as some organizations suggested, assessing the capability of the existing fishing systems was an opportunity to redress the problem. On the to cope with disasters at sea and developing one hand, it reduced fleet strength and, on the other, appropriate mechanisms to improve the quality and it opened avenues for (i) moving people out of the other issues important for sea safety. sector by providing sustainable alternatives (perhaps There were few programmes to develop in shore-based activities) and (ii) implementing more community-based disaster preparedness because, responsible fisheries management programmes for some NGO informants suggested, the existing conserving the coastal resources. rom all indications, packages were inadequate to meet the needs of the the fishers too were largely agreeable to the idea fishers. Mere drills and role-playing only engendered because of a variety of reasons and would have apathy in the fishers and made the programmes welcomed the opportunity to withdraw from the ineffective in the long term. or a DP programme to sector, if given sustainable alternatives. Many

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mechanized boat owners, as discussed above, were Livelihood Diversification and Alternative not even particular about being shown alternatives and Income Generation were willing to move out after taking the Post-tsunami, there were reports of an increase in compensation package. In other words, the tsunami migration of fishers from Nagapattinam district to made it possible to do something that would have other areas, which included destinations in Southeast taken a considerable time to materialise. It was an Asia (Singapore and Malaysia). There was also a parallel opportune moment to streamline the sector and put movement into non-traditional activities, particularly in place some restrictions on the unchecked and among the younger people who were reportedly unregulated entry into the sector. moving to towns like Tirupur, Chennai and However, this turned out to be another lost Coimbatore in search of work. In Arcotthurai, women opportunity, at least for the time being. As indicated, were reported to be working in neighbouring towns, the Government firmly refused to entertain the plea running various businesses (like operating telephone of the mechanized boat owners to be allowed to take kiosks) and working as domestic help. Some were the compensation money and leave the sector. That a working in agriculture. In Kerala, while the men were few people still managed to obtain the money without waiting for the boats to come through and, in some necessarily replacing the boats was perhaps lucky, but cases, for the Government to prepare the long- the fact remained that implementing the provisions promised ‘second list’ for damage assessment, the would have meant (and still did mean) restoring status women undertook a wide range of activities to feed quo, with the attendant problems of destructive the families. In Vattachal (in Aratupuzha), the women’s fishing, competition and conflicts. earnings from coir processing (a traditional activity in While the destructive nature of mechanized fishing the area) were said to keep the families afloat. was recognised by the NGOs, which led to taking a In Kanyakumari, geographical migration was a firm stand against extending support for its revival, seasonal feature for a long time, but it was reported the capacity of the ‘artisanal’ boats (particularly the that its intensity had increased in the post-tsunami RP motorized category) for overfishing – which was period. The tsunami did not seem to have made a as much a cause of overexploitation as destructive fishing – was underestimated, leading to provision serious impact upon the migratory patterns of fishers of large numbers of new boats that would definitely in Andhra Pradesh. contribute to the crisis in the sector. Although some The rehabilitation programmes gave rise to some NGOs insisted upon compulsory registration of the new opportunities for employing the fishers. In craft, not all new boats were registered and the situation Prakasam district, where the fishers had traditionally with numbers was no better than it had been before depended on the carpenters from Chennai area to the tsunami. build their wooden boats, an opportunity arose to Thus, in the absence of opportunities for train them in building the boats when the contractors diversification of fishing grounds, both mechanized from Chennai left midway through a rehabilitation boats and the motorized boats would compete for project to build boats and the subsequent events fish in the inshore waters and that it will be a case of showed that the fishers had no more need to go to the same quantity of fish (as earlier) being taken by a Chennai for getting their boats built. Similar stories much larger number of boats, with reduced per capita were heard in Villupuram district and elsewhere. availability all round. This indicates that the post- However, the massive house construction tsunami rehabilitation programmes might have actually programme, where much scope existed for people contributed to exacerbating an already difficult to work, did not seem to have caught the interest of situation. the fishers. There were efforts to involve the There were indications towards the end of the communities in house construction and a few fishers year that fisheries management was coming to the fore did get involved, but a large majority tended to remain and some programmes (involving international and out of it. Some NGOs provided training in house national efforts with government and NGO participa- construction and encouraged the fishers to contribute tion) were being formulated for implementation over to building their own houses, but the response was the coming years. said to be lukewarm. There were also some local

182 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings India Country Report initiatives like brick making, which might have helped According to the field functionaries of NGOs the neighbouring non-fishing communities (particularly (supported by physical evidence in the villages), the the dalits in Nagapattinam) more than they helped the fishers’ complaints about not receiving their due were fishers. Partly, this was to do with the fact that the often not true; they complained because they knew fishers (especially the Pattinavars) considered it beneath the NGOs would only give boats and not money, so their dignity to indulge in such work. Another it made sense to demand boats only to turn them into explanation had to do with the fishers’ apprehensions money at the first opportunity. They were also aware that if they showed an inclination to work in non- that outsiders would find it difficult to determine how fishing activities, they would be implicitly accepting many boats had actually gone into an area and even if that there were alternatives to fishing and thus risk a they did, it would be nearly impossible to compare reduction in the flow of funds into the sector. Also, them with the boats that had existed in the pre-tsunami there was a fear that there might be much building period in the area. work going on currently, but it would be over within Many long-term NGO representatives, panchayat a year or so, and there would be very little building leaders, community members and leaders of work for a long time to come, particularly if many fishworkers’ organizations met during the study people had taken to it. repeatedly stressed how they had to remain helpless Obviously, any alternative income generation spectators for fear of drawing flak from the fishers. programme would have to contend with such factors In fact, in Nambiar Nagar, it was stated that the and come up with some meaningful responses, but it caste panchayat’s resistance to accepting boats in large was clear that for many fishers, working in the fish numbers was an important reason for the eventual production and marketing chains still remained the overthrow of the panchayat itself23. only option to meet their livelihood needs. The fact was that, it was the dream of every fisherman to be the owner of his boat and the tsunami Key Issues in Rehabilitation of isheries- offered many fishers the once-in-a lifetime opportunity based Livelihoods in Tamil Nadu to fulfil their wish and they were certainly not going to worry about the investments, overcapacity and Changing Patterns of Boat Ownership overexploitation at such time. Also, the motorized boat The fishers complained that most NGOs came with was the most expensive item a fisherman could hope set ideas to give boats and if the fishers had refused to get from the rehabilitation effort and they took it to take them, they stood lose everything because the even when they had no need for it, knowing they could NGOs had little else to offer besides boats. Some always sell it and buy a cheaper one in due course. fishers even said that they had been so grateful to the The demand for more boats had also been NGOs who fed them, clothed them and gave them explained as an outcome of the fact that, for the shelters to live in at a time of need that they could not fishers, there were really no alternatives. They had no simply refuse the boats or demand for other, more skills to diversify and they did not have the investment necessary, items. required to take up another activity. Considering that While this might be the case in some areas, there the situation in other primary sector occupations was was no doubt that the fishers themselves played a even worse, there were really not many options major role in allowing the proliferation of boats. Even available anyway. Of course, if the situation continued the same people who complained about too many this way for a few months more, they would have to boats going into the villages would, when the time came, suddenly change tune and demand more boats. bow before the inevitable and work in other activities Of course, they said, it was true that there were more because all their surplus would be gone by then and boats than there had been previously, but they all went they’d be moving back to a very basic stage of to the ‘other people’ or to the ‘other side of the village’ existence, but they’d rather fight to the bitter end than or to the neighbouring village, but never to ‘us’ or to prepare to move out already. In the meantime, the ‘our village’. Except in Nagapattinam district, it was motorized boats would help them go farther out and rarely that people admitted they had received sufficient fish for longer durations, so they opted for them. Post- numbers of boats. tsunami, the fishers claimed, fishes had moved into

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Group Ownership in Mulukuthurai

The problems with group ownership were apparent even in backwater villages like Mulukuthurai in Killai area and it might be instructive to look at how group ownership was shaping up here. Starting from Pichavaram estuary and reportedly extending up to Parangipettai in Cuddalore district, many plank-built kanna thonis operated in the backwaters and these were truly household ventures in that a man and his wife used to fish.24 Every family in the area thus had a kanna thoni and the individual fishers were masters of their operations in the backwaters. The tsunami washed away or damaged most kanna thonis in the area and the fishermen showed preference to have the same replaced in the rehabilitation programmes. This was because, while fishing with kanna thoni in the backwaters might not be lucrative, it at least helped them to make a reasonable living. ew of them were experienced in operating motorized boats at sea and they also feared about the cost of operations. There was also strong opposition from the women to taking RP boats, because they feared – rightly, as it turned out – that the boats would reduce their role in fishing. But the NGO decided that manual punting and rowing in a heavy boat like kanna thoni was hard work and that the fishermen should take advantage of labour-saving and more efficient technologies and it convinced the fishers they would be better off by changing over to RP motorized boats. The fishers agreed reluctantly and soon became the co-owners of new RP motorized boats. But within months, they started facing problems with the new arrangement. There were operational problems: it was difficult to make all owners to agree upon anything; this had less to do with their quarrelsome nature and more to do with indecision and inability to accept responsibility in a group situation. Simple day-to-day issues like who should do what, how to share expenditure on diesel, where to obtain new nets from, who to undertake maintenance suddenly acquired momentous dimensions. On any given day, at least 4 or 5 boats would remain on the shore as one of the crew would fail to turn up and the rest could not simply take off without one of the ‘owners’. At sea too, with five owners onboard, there was a breakdown in the organization of fishing activity, leading to constant bickering. That the boats needed frequent repairs and maintenance did not help matters much either. So now the co-owners of the boats were devising some new arrangements to make things work. Each boat now had a leader who, by virtue of being better off than the others, was expected to bear all the expenses for fishing, on the understanding that he would take his money back (along with some ‘incentive’) from the returns. The next stage in this arrangement was that, in case fishing was poor on a given day (which normally had been the case in the recent past), the leader would go on investing until such time that fish catches improved sufficiently to enable him to recover his investment, plus the interest. Ever since this arrangement came into existence, the crew became reluctant to allow the leader to take some of his investment back even on the days when fishing was good, suggesting instead that he could always recover his money when fishing ‘really’ improved. The leader’s investments on the boat were thus mounting all the time and one could already visualise what might happen next: the leader would become the de facto owner of the boat in a year or less. So as it unfolded, the story in Mulukuthurai went like this: the fishers who had once been owners of their boats, were now trying to cope with being co-owners of the motorized boats, which would sooner rather than later come to be owned by the leaders, thus relegating the remaining ‘co-owners’ to being labourers on the boats. While this was something that the fishers seemed to welcome, the irony remains: the programmes were intended to make boat owners of the crew, not the other way round.

184 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings India Country Report deeper waters and they needed to fish farther out than suggested, a line had now been drawn between the previously, which justified the demand for motorized owners and the crew and it was likely that their future boats in place of the wooden kattamarams, because relations would be coloured by whatever had the motorized boat would help them fish in the deeper happened in the aftermath of the tsunami. waters. Whether they really took the boats into the In some cases, the former boat owners who deeper waters was doubtful because of the prevalence received compensation from the Government either of poor fishing conditions in the post-tsunami period. did not opt for a new boat from NGOs or were There was yet another angle to this: although the barred from doing so (mainly due to pressure from fishing villages of the Coromandel Coast (as well as the crewmember organizations; see the next section), in Andhra Pradesh and Orissa on the east coast) were and many of them ended up as crewmembers on apparently homogeneous, there had been simmering others’ boats. Considering many former tensions between the boat owners and the crew – crewmembers had now become owners of their each felt the other to be benefiting at their expense. boats, this led to a reversal of roles and the impacts The crew complained about a decline in their share of such role reversals upon the social and economic from the catch returns while the owners complained fabric of the communities would remain to be seen. about the increased risks. When the tsunami occurred, the issue came into the open when the crew demanded Group Ownership that they be provided a share of the compensation In all three States, a majority of boats had been amount received by the boat owners. or the owners, provided to the fishers on a group ownership basis: who had been complaining that they had not received each boat was provided to three to five people, a fair share in the compensation packages, this was although scarcity of boats occasionally required clearly out of the question and so they refused. Over spreading the ownership to 8 people in some areas. the next few weeks, the issue became increasingly Although group ownership was promoted in both heated and the respective positions of the owners and Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, there was an the crew became increasingly irreconcilable. This interesting difference: in Andhra Pradesh, it was a eventually led to the crew demanding not only that measure to spread the benefits of a few boats over they be given boats, but also that the former boat many claimants, whereas in Tamil Nadu, it meant owners should not receive any (because they’d received increasing the number of claimants to justify compensation from the Government). This also distribution of more boats. culminated in toppling the owner-dominated caste In Nagapattinam and Kanyakumari districts, the panchayats in several villages on the Coromandel Coast, concept of individual ownership was strongly rooted particularly in Nagapattinam district. and the fishers were quite clear that group-ownership So, for the crew, owning a boat was a means of would not work and all group-owned boats would balancing the power equation in the villages and being soon become individual operations. or these fishers, treated as equals by the boat owners; it helped that past experience with group ownership, tried out the NGOs had enough money to help them realise unsuccessfully in the co-operative sector, clearly their dream. Now that everyone in a village was a showed that it did not work for many reasons. The boat owner, it would be interesting to see how the most important reason for the failure was that the arrangements concerning the fishing operations would impetus for sharing in many of these initiatives came work out. There is no doubt that a majority of the from outside, often from above. People took boats new boat owners would continue to work on the in groups to satisfy the requirements, but the boats same boats that they had been working on prior to soon came to be owned by individuals. The tsunami (it was already happening in many villages), organization of marketing activities, as they exist now, but the arrangements would certainly be different. also favoured individual ownership, particularly when They might be more equitable, although it would be it came to negotiating credit and trade arrangements. difficult to see that happening in a system where a Group ownership was also considered to give rise to lion’s share of the catch returns was gobbled up by complications related to insurance, resale, registration the engines. As a fisherman from Nambiar Nagar and accessing development support.

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Notwithstanding the experiences from Killai and prevailed in the fishing communities. Assets like shore- elsewhere, group ownership cannot be dismissed out seines and madavalai (lift nets) were communally of hand as impractical for a number of reasons. The owned and operated up to the present time in parts first of these is the fact that group ownership has existed of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Also, over time, for a long time in several villages on the Coromandel Coast as the costs and risks in many fishing and related itself. Many motorized and mechanized fishing systems activities began to mount, one could see a change back are jointly owned by up to four people in many parts to the group-ownership of assets in many areas in of Villupuram, Pondicherry and Cuddalore districts; Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. or instance, shore-seines in several villages like Chinna Mudaliar Savidi, group in Srikakulam district came to be group-owned (after ownership was actually the norm and individual a period when they had been owned by individuals in ownership, an exception. In Koonimedu Kuppam, other areas) in order to share the catches over a larger 32 out of the 45 boats in the pre-tsunami period were number of people in the village and reduce their food group-owned and in some cases, according to a reliable insecurity during lean periods. ish processing women source, the boats boasted as many as six owners each. in many villages began to operate in groups, which However, two- or three-people owning a boat was was a good risk minimising strategy. the norm. In the case of post-tsunami boat programmes, According to the fishers in these villages, group the fishers suggested that the involvement of panchayats ownership became necessary with the arrival of in providing boats on joint-ownership basis would mechanized and motorized boats in the 1960s and lessen the potential for troubles among the co-owners: 1980s, as they required sizeable investments that were the panchayats would play a role in minimising frictions beyond the capacity of individuals to make from their and, if necessary, ‘transfer’ a owner from one boat to own pockets. As the new technologies also required another until a balance was established. How practical regular investment to run and maintain, group- the idea would be in implementation was doubtful, ownership too was said to have survived into the but the fact that the fishers were aware of the recent times as a means to reduce risk. However, it possibilities for strife and worked out possible coping was possible that the system had existed even before strategies would indicate that they would be able to the modernisation programmes began. or instance, take care of the problems. the president of the Nadukuppam panchayat asserted Thus, dismissing the idea of group-ownership that, “When my grandfather bought a wooden as unworkable is akin to implying that the fishers were kattamaram for Rs. 600, he had two other partners – apart from being habitual defaulters – also inimical investing Rs. 200 each,” which makes group-ownership to concepts like cooperation and working together. in this area a hoary tradition indeed. If anything, there is a justification for making group- In group-owned boats, partnership was always initiatives such as this to work both as a coping based on equal shares: all expenditure and returns were strategy to reduce losses as well as to achieve shared equally. Although there were some doubts economies of scale in the markets, so this might be about all shareholders in the enterprise taking the same an area where the NGOs could put more efforts in amount of interest in the fishing operations, which the coming years. To begin with, a study to determine gave rise to occasional change in the partners, the fact why and how group ownership works in some areas remained that the system worked and had done so and fails in others could be a good starting point. for a considerable period of time, which was mainly It may be more appropriate to say that group- because it came from within, rather than forced upon ownership works in some areas and in some instances, the people from outside. especially where the groups have a history of sharing Even in Kerala, in Aratupuzha, group ownership with one another. Given that, in the case of post- of boats was reported to be in existence from the tsunami rehabilitation work, the boats were provided pre-tsunami period itself and the fishers foresaw no with hardly any homework to ascertain the inclinations problems in operating the boats provided subsequently of the fishers or to develop systems for enhancing as group ventures. Going further back in time, one scope for their working together, it is likely that group- could see many instances where group-ownership ownership would fail in a number of cases. On the

186 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings India Country Report other hand, in a context where risk sharing was slowly seemed rather bemused about resolving the issue becoming an established practice, people might find amicably. group ownership to be a more convenient arrangement The same social equity arguments that provided than the previous system and ensure that it works. Put boats to women’s groups may also have contributed simply, to the extent that group-ownership had been to actually reducing the women’s stake in fishing in no more than an excuse to give boats and spend some areas. As indicated in a previous section, the money, it would be very likely to fail, but where it only instance of women taking an active part in fishing was rooted in practical reality, it would succeed. operations on the Coromandel coast26 was observed in the backwaters of Pichavaram. Here, the women Ownership of Boats by Women had been fishing in the creeks along with their husbands On the Coromandel coast, women’s self-help groups on the plank-built kanna thonis and also selling the had been provided with boats at the rate of one boat catches, thus playing a dominant role in the household for five or six people. The idea was that these women economy. When the tsunami destroyed a majority of would hire the boats out to the men or get their the wooden kanna thonis and the NGOs provided husbands to do the fishing and use their share of RP motorized boats in their stead to the men, the returns for setting up group savings activities. The women found themselves literally stranded on the women would thus be the owners of the production shore because they did not have a role in the marine- assets, with men contributing the labour to run them, fishing RP boats. They were reduced to being sellers so it was a perfect marriage of assets with skills in an of fish or just housewives. As a woman explained it: ideal world. “Earlier, we caught fish together and I had control Unfortunately, this is not an ideal world and the over the sales and expenditure. Now the whole thing only good thing about this particular programme is is out of my control. Only men can go now and they that, unlike some of the other issues discussed above, sell their catches for ready cash. My husband hands there is no ambiguity about its fate: going by historical me a trifle or, frequently, nothing. He says fishing is precedent25 as well as from the way the programmes were implemented now, one can predict that it will poor and I have no way to ascertain it. Many times, not work in a majority of cases. The men – whether he comes back and says they did not catch anything hired labour or the women’s husbands – would and asks me money to pay for the next day’s fishing. become the de facto owners of the boats and, if Earlier, when we came back empty-handed, it was anything, make the women to pay from their savings no big loss because all we would have lost was a day’s towards the frequent engine repairs and other work. The new boat took away my work, my husband maintenance costs. In the end, the asset would become and my savings and gave me nothing in return.” Thanks a burden on the women. to the new RP boats, the fact of women being Adding to the confusion, some NGOs insisted involved in fishing in Pichavaram might soon become that at least two out of the five women receiving a a distant memory. That the modernisation technologies boat should be widows, or divorced, or somehow marginalized women in fisheries was an established single. Trouble raised its head when the boats were fact, but the paradox is that this should happen in a operated by the men who were husbands of the context where ‘social equity’ was the name of the women in the group. Sharing became a contested issue game. because it was based upon the number of people going for fishing and since the single women had no The Possible Impact of New Boats on isheries one to represent them onboard, the fishers were Resources unwilling to share equally with them; in rare cases, where More than the mechanized boats, it would be the the husbands of the group members reluctantly agreed increase in the RP motorized fleet that would now to share with the single women (at the prodding of be a cause for concern. In other words, the enemy is the NGOs), the extra hands they’d hired for fishing now within the artisanal sector and destructive fishing refused to go along with the arrangement. Even the might give way to overfishing. There was potential caste panchayats, which had been given the for increasing strife within the sector as the same kinds responsibility of handing the boats to the women, of boats, originating from the same villages, compete

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for the same fishing grounds and the repercussions earnings. With the increased cost of fuel, there was would be manifested in various ways both at sea and bound to be a hike in the ancillary costs of operations on shore. In Arcotthurai, for instance, lack of space too. On the other hand, while the cost of operations for keeping the boats on the beaches was reported to was going up, the price of fish remained constant be a big problem, as all boats must be accommodated over the years and, in the post-tsunami period, even on the narrow stretch of shoreline that belonged to went down in many villages as a result of fewer traders the village. With the neighbouring villages too coming to take them. In Kerala, where the cost of becoming owners of several new boats, there was kerosene used in fishing operations was subsidised to little scope for expanding the boundaries of the beach some extent, the rising cost of operations was a serious available to the village, so the beaches were all constraint. The kerosene provided by the Matsyafed crowded in a much smaller area and the fishers outlets – some 225 litres per month per vallam – was complained that it would take a long time to pull a enough to run the boats for a maximum of four to boat into the sea. Also, the fact that many boats were six days, and the fishers would have to depend on generally anchored at a distance from the beach (just open-market kerosene for the rest of the month so, beyond the surf) meant that they constantly bumped as one fisherman quipped, “The engines get fat at our into one another. The damages were more serious expense!” Naturally, people preferred to stay at home because of the poor quality of the boats. rather than risk a fishing trip if they were not absolutely There were also problems at sea, which were sure of getting their investment back. Given the rise reported in many areas and related to nets being in cost of fuel, many fishers suggested that the actual overrun by others, fights brewing between boats at numbers of boats that would eventually be involved sea, etc. In the absence of opportunities for in regular fishing would be even less than those that diversification of fishing grounds, it would most likely had been in operation before tsunami. Under the to be a case of the same quantity of fish (as earlier) circumstances, no matter how many boats had been being taken by a much larger number of boats, with provided, only a few would actually become reduced per capita availability. Going by the available operational. literature on the artisanal rule systems, it does not Apart from the cost of fuel, the cost of appear that the traditional governance could cope with maintenance was also very high: in Koonimedu conflicts within the same category of fishing systems Kuppam (in Villupuram district in Tamil Nadu), it as effectively as they could with those between was said that every week (or after using 25-30 litres different categories of boats. This would mean that of oil)27, at least Rs. 250 must be spent on engine there would be a chaotic situation in the nearshore repairs. If a boat capsized at sea or overturned while waters in the coming years and its impact upon the crossing the surf, which was a frequent occurrence, coastal resources would not be positive. the engine alone would require some Rs 5000 to be or a number of reasons, it is unlikely that all the repaired. The increasing variety and quantity of fishing new RP boats would actually be operated or even, nets, and their short lifespan, meant huge recurring in some cases, that the number of new boats would costs adding to the overall burden, a fact that was not be as high as reported. often recognised in the rehabilitation efforts. All this meant that many fishers, confronted by Cost of Operations the harsh realities of life as boat owners, were Simple economic logic ruled out the possibility of becoming painfully aware that they had overreached many boats being put to the sea. The cost of fishing themselves. It was a frequent refrain in many fishing operations was considered so high that fishing became villages that being a crewmember on the boat was an extremely risky proposition in most areas covered preferable to owning it, a fact that was confirmed by by this study in all three states. Two factors added to other studies too (Muralidharan, pers.comm.). the costs since the tsunami: one, the engine powers had increased, requiring more fuel for operations; two, Possibility of Resale of Boats the cost of diesel went up by over 30 per cent (from There were indications that several boats would most Rs. 22 to Rs. 35 per litre) in the la st year. On average, probably be sold. This had already begun in many the cost of fuel accounted for two-thirds of the gross areas and if this was not more widespread, it was

188 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings India Country Report

The Case of a Marakkanam boat in Vodarevu

Osipilli Narsulu was a fisherman operating an RP Teppa along with his sons. When an NGO provided six Marakkanam boats to the village in the post-tsunami period, he purchased one in open auction by paying Rs40,000. The first two fishing trips with the boat went off well but on the second day of the third trip, they observed water leaking inside the boat. The boat capsized within an hour, sinking along with nets, engines and the catches. There were some other boats fishing in the neighbourhood, which rescued Narsulu and his sons. Quickly, they got the capsizing boat dragged to the shore with the help of four boats. The repairs to the boat came to Rs10,000, but a full repair would cost nearly Rs40,000. No one – the NGO, the panchayat or the contractor who built it – was willing to take responsibility for the repairs. After many negotiations, the contractor agreed to repay the Rs10,000 already incurred in repairs, but that did not solve the problem. Nowadays, Narsulu reverted to fishing with his old teppa. because of lack of buyers. Many fishers in the ‘shadow reportedly forcing the children to skip schools to take zones’ were still hoping to get boats from NGOs, them fishing. Such imbalances might be expected to but once they understood that it was unlikely to happen, lead to an increase in the crew shares, but the available they would start buying from the fishers already evidence showed that this was simply not possible in owning boats. This was reported to have already begun a context of high costs and uncertain (often poor) in some Kanyakumari villages like Colachel. The returns. advantage in buying a tsunami boat was, of course, The changed owner-crew relations would require that it would be very cheap: for instance, in Colachel, some adaptations like the boats operating on a ‘shift’ a new boat that was said to cost Rs. 67 thousand to system – only half the boats would go fishing on any build was available for sale at Rs. 41 thousand and given day – and this was already happening in some there was a chance that it would come down further. villages. This would reduce the number of fishing days This kind of redistribution would take place both per boat, but was considered necessary to reduce within the state as well as outside of it. While the conflicts and ensure sufficient number of crew were differences in size and design of the boats between available for fishing. It was also suggested that some one region and another might act as a constraint, it of the boat owners would simply leave their boats was reported that the ‘Marakkanam’ boats of Tamil on the beaches and go fishing as crew on others’ boats, Nadu were now finding a good demand in the fishing because the current demand for crew made it more villages of Andhra Pradesh, right up to Vodarevu in lucrative being one than being a boat owner! Prakasam district, indicating the possibility of spread of new designs to these areas. Quality Concerns with the New Boats More than any other factor, it is the technical problems Problems with inding Crew for ishing that might be the determining factor in discouraging Lack of manpower was a serious problem in many many boats from putting out to sea. The quality of villages. With everyone becoming a part-owner of a RP boat construction was extremely poor and boat, there was a big shortfall in the numbers of crew resulted in what the fishers called as ‘use-and-throw’ available to man the boats and this was reflected in boats, because many boats developed serious the reduced number of fishing days. Prior to the problems during the first fishing trip itself. ew NGOs tsunami, growing unemployment had been an endemic had the knowledge or the skills to supervise quality problem in many villages and the influx of new boats control and fewer still had insisted upon a properly created new employment opportunities for some of drafted contract with the boat builders to ensure them. Still, there was a big gap in the requirement for prompt after-sales service. crew; in some villages, there was a fear that the shortage In many locations affected by the tsunami, the of crew was contributing to an increase in the expertise, capacity and infrastructure for RP boat numbers of dropouts, because some fishers were construction had been very inadequate. In the rush to

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build boats, even established boatyard found their boats was really that optimistic: they suggested the experienced workers abandoning them in order to new boats would perhaps last a maximum of 5 years, set up independent units of their own, often recruiting but many would go much sooner than that. During local workers who had little knowledge of dealing the field study, when it was enquired of the boat with RP. Many NGOs had even less experience in builders in Kanyakumari what kind of guarantee they boat construction and often relied on intermediaries would give for the boats, the answer was succinct: (or the boatyards themselves) to guide them. There “No guarantee for tsunami boats!” The same boat were obviously compromises in terms of reducing builders were willing to give some guarantee for thickness or using poor quality material, besides serious privately constructed boats, but not for tsunami ones, structural shortcomings. Many boats were reported although the unit costs were the same for both (in to buckle frequently and capsize while negotiating the fact, the private boats might be cheaper). surf. The need to give boats as quickly as possible All the same, many boatyards had indeed given a also led to insufficient setting time for the layers, which warranty of one year for the boats and had been came apart at the first opportunity. responsive enough to undertake repairs in many boats, In spite of the fact that RP had come to be but the fishers had a point when they asked: if the used as a boat building material in the area since early boats developed serious problems in a few weeks of 1980s, the fishers were not knowledgeable about the operation, could one trust their seaworthiness? Also, quality aspects in RP boat building anymore than the it was already six months since the boats had been NGOs or, in some cases, the boat builders themselves given, so the warranty would expire in another six did. The fact that many of them were graduating from months and who would pay for the repairs then? More wooden kattamarams also reduced their capacity to importantly, the boats had reached the fishers via the take control of the boat building activity. Even in cases NGOs and when the NGOs left the place, the fishers where the fishers were knowledgeable about quality would not even know who had built their boats, let issues (many of them undoubtedly had their own alone approach them for repairs. Many fishers were yardsticks), the boats were often built at a distant of the opinion that a sizeable number of boats might location and the fact that many NGOs (as always, be discarded within a year, i.e., as soon as the guarantee there were a few exceptions) worked directly with period was over, giving substance to the ‘use-and- the panchayats and not with individual beneficiaries throw’ concept. meant that there were at least two screens between Naturally, the fishers were scared to take the boats the fishers and the boat builders. deep into the sea because they were afraid they might In Andhra Pradesh, during the repair phase, Velugu sink and their experiences with the new boats over constituted village-level quality control teams to the last few months amply justified the fears. In supervise the quality of repairs, which had been done Melamanakudy and Tranquebar, the fishers ruled out in the villages. Payment for the repairs was made only fishing for seer and flying fish with the new boats after the quality teams (and the beneficiaries) satisfied because that would require fishing at depths over 40 themselves about the quality of the work. It was a fathoms, which would be too risky to undertake with different matter when it came to the building new boats of such poor quality. “These boats would be boats, but there were relatively few complaints about crushed like paper dolls,” one Tranquebar fisherman quality in the repair phase. noted. Already, there were many reliable stories of Lacking such arrangements, the boat how the boats had created problems at sea for the programmes in Tamil Nadu frequently gave rise to fishers, which came from every area visited during what a fisherman characterizd as ‘use-and-throw’ this study. boats. Many boats developed serious problems in the In some areas in Nagapattinam district, where first few trips (often in the first trip itself). A majority some NGOs got some old boats repaired while also of boats suffered with water leaking into the boat providing new boats, it was reported that there was and several also sported hairline cracks on the body. much competition to take the repaired boats and Although an RP boat was generally guaranteed to people had actually paid a premium to exchange their last 8-10 years, none of the fishers who had received new boats for a repaired one! There were also instances

190 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings India Country Report when old boats accidentally hit new boats and the the boatyard as soon as the NGO personnel had latter suffered serious damages. departed from the area. When another NGO came In Melamanakudy the fishers returned the faulty into the village, the panchayat would once again place boats to the NGO rather than agree to get them before it a detailed list of people in need of boats repaired and were using their old boats again. and the NGO would place order with the boat builder, Considering the widespread nature of complaints who would simply remove the dust off the boats about the quality of boats, it is likely that sea safety and arrange for another impressive boat distribution will become a serious issue in the near future with the programme. And so on. This kind of recycling meant boats provided under tsunami-rehabilitation that the number of boats actually built could be less programmes. than as reported by the NGOs. Secondly, the number of boats provided was Diversification exaggerated as a result of multiple-entries in the It is also possible that although most fishers received records: the NGO at the grassroots level would give boats, at least a few of them had shifted to shore- a number that was repeated by its donors at the state- based occupations in the meantime and took boats level and by the donors’ donors at the international with a view to sell them. When mechanized fishing level – in the end, the number of boats provided in started again, many of the former crewmembers this instance would be three times as high as it really drifted back into their old positions on the trawlers. was. It was likely that not all promised boats were This might sound a little surprising considering the unlikely to be given in districts like Kanyakumari. fact that they were at loggerheads with the owners Already, many NGOs, which promised to give boats, not so long ago, but there was no apparent rancour, had left the area and the few that remain were hoping perhaps because both knew they needed each other’s to wind up their operations by the time of the first support and agreed to bury the hatchet (at least for anniversary of the tsunami. the time being). Whatever be the reason, it meant that at least some of the new boats would not now be Rehabilitation of ishing Communities operated. It was also possible that the boats could be Land and Shelter Issues hired out to others or run by the family members of Housing in the coastal areas was a major casualty in the fishers. the tsunami, which damaged or destroyed huge numbers of houses right along the coast. The Exaggeration in Numbers Government and the NGOs responded very promptly On the other hand, there were also possible in setting up temporary shelters for housing the exaggerations in the numbers actually provided for at dispossessed and followed it up with massive least two reasons. irstly, there was much ‘recycling’, programmes for construction of permanent houses which resulted because of the connivance between for the affected people. the fishers and the boat builders on the one hand and between the boat builders and the field-level Details of Shelter Rehabilitation Programmes functionaries of the NGOs on the other. Put simply, In Tamil Nadu, the Government undertook a major this meant building boats on paper, and obtaining housing programme to build 130,000 houses in the requisite testimonials from the relevant parties in order affected areas at a unit cost of Rs.1.5 lakh each28. Apart to get paid. from the houses, the Government programme In Kanyakumari district, for instance, there were envisaged providing basic infrastructure facilities like stories of the same boats being distributed more than roads, water supply, sanitation, rainwater-harvesting once. It happened this way: the fishers would demand systems, etc. The Government sought private-public for a certain number of boats from an NGO, which partnerships for construction of permanent shelters would place the order with a local boatyard. The and community assets such as, schools, primary health boatyard would build the boats in required numbers centres, community shelters, etc., and encouraged and these would be distributed in an impressive NGO investments in these areas. The land for ceremony to the fishers, who would return them to relocation was provided by the Government, which

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also came up with a set of guidelines for house in spite of all their anxieties and concerns, they were construction. or damaged houses, an amount of up resolved to move into the new houses and sort out to Rs.75,000 was provided based on the value of things from there. Also, this was why the various assessed damages. A noteworthy initiative of the Tamil shelter-related issues that came up during the Nadu Government was to give joint title deeds in the interactions concerned the hitches in implementation name of the man and the woman of a household to rather than question its overall relevance (as happened, the land on which the new houses were coming up. for instance, in the boat programmes). In Kerala, in the three districts affected by the tsunami, namely Kollam, Alappuzha and Ernakulam, The Issue of Relocation provision was made for the construction of a total In Tamil Nadu and Kerala, depending on the of 3,608 houses with the support of NGOs. The availability of land, the houses were being provided unit cost was fixed at Rs. 1.75 lakh for a normal house either in situ (i.e., on the same spot where the victims’ and between Rs. 2.75-3.25 lakhs for fortified houses, houses had stood) or, when it was not feasible (due and the government provided land (where required) to congestion or insufficient space; many houses were for the relocation of houses and subsidised the cost also located close to the sea), in alternate locations of each house to the tune of Rs. 50,000, while the rest where the Government provided land for the of the money was raised by the NGOs, who also purpose. The issue of relocation had been the source undertook the actual construction work. of much debate and many anxieties both for the In Andhra Pradesh, the Government sanctioned communities as well as the aid agencies. The issue the construction of 40,000 houses across the 9 coastal was more complicated on the Coromandel Coast districts at a unit cost of Rs. 40,000 each, of which (particularly Nagapattinam and, to a lesser extent, Rs. 20,000 would be provided as subsidy and Rs. Cuddalore) than in Kanyakumari and other districts 17,500 as margin money at a subsidised rate of interest, where the number of people requiring relocation was while the remaining sum of Rs. 2,500 would be comparatively less. contributed by the beneficiary. The package was not Put simply, the issue of relocation boiled down new, and was a continuation of an ongoing to a fundamental dilemma that fishing communities programme for rural housing, except that the quantum everywhere faced: life security vs. livelihood security. of support, which had been reduced earlier to Rs. Living on open beaches, the fishing communities were 20,000 per house, was restored to Rs. 40,000 after the always exposed to the natural disasters and were the tsunami. Where the new houses could not be built in first to be affected in times of any sea-borne disaster. situ, the Government would make provision for On the other hand, their livelihood activities were construction of the houses on its own land or by intricately linked to their being on the beaches and a acquiring patta land by paying a fixed price. shift away from the beach (which was an important social space in the village) could mean serious trouble. Relevance of the Shelter Programmes for the The close integration between fishing and the social Coastal Communities and economic organization of the communities would Overall, the field visits to the villages gave a strong mean that a shift away from the beach could have impression that the housing programmes were very potentially wide-ranging consequences. positive investment in terms of improving the fishers’ The fact that security of tenure had always been quality of life, reducing their future vulnerability and a contested issue for the fishers also explained their enhancing their economic wellbeing; in other words, contradictory responses: on the one hand, they were the housing programmes could contribute significantly reluctant to leave their existing habitats because being to livelihood sustainability. This was particularly valid close to the sea was the only way they could assert when the housing conditions in the pre-tsunami period their rights to it; they could not leave it because the in many of these villages (in terms of quality of land they would vacate could easily be alienated for houses, water and sanitation, access to transport and some other purpose, as happened many times in the other basic facilities) were taken into account. The past. On the other hand, they were eager to move fishers were aware of this which was the reason why, into the new houses because that would give them

192 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings India Country Report the security of ownership of their house, a privilege the traditional governance systems (caste panchayats) many of them never had. and upset the hierarchies that governed their supra- organization. Similarly, many grassroots level attempts Possible Impacts of Relocation at community-organization might also suffer. The distance from the sea remained a big concern for Secondly, the new areas where the fishers were the fishers. They argued that, in order to be able to moving into, largely inhabited by people of a non- fish, they would need to stay on the beach at all times fishing extraction, might lead to confrontations and keep a watch on the movements in the sea, ready between the local communities and the newcomers, to launch their boats at a moment’s notice and rush even leading to a sort of ghettoisation of the fishers. after a passing school of fish. Being on the sea also In villages like Kallar, there was a strong resistance to helped to launch the boats at all times of day and move inland because the local agrarian communities night and this would become impossible if they were would dominate them and insist upon the fishers to be relocated. The need for many hands while working according to the existing panchayat rules. Also launching and hauling the boats would also mean that of particular concern would be the plight of people a good number of people must be on the beach at all who would be relocated in small groups over several times. The boats would frequently capsize while locations – their minority status could potentially negotiating the surf and there was a need for people marginalize them and lack of access to traditional social to lend a helping hand in such emergencies. If the networks might increase their vulnerability. villages were to be shifted inland, none of this would In administrative terms, one outcome of be possible. Also, keeping watch on the boats, nets relocation might be that there would be an increase in and engines while living elsewhere would be going to the number of fishing villages. This means that the be another concern. number of fishing villages in TN would continue to The sea beach (kallâram or Kadalorum) which was remain a matter of great debate for years to come. between the fishing settlements and the sea was the most important common space for the entire village The Twin-house Concept and facilitates a number of activities: berthing the This confusion was quite evident in people’s responses boats, auctioning fish catches, mending nets, drying in many villages during the field study, giving the fish and firewood, besides fulfilling many social impression that they had not clearly thought through functions (see Bharathi, 1999). This dependence on their responses, which was reflected in frequent shifts the sea beaches also determined the spatial organization of stance and wavering between extremes. of the villages along the north-south direction, rather A majority of fishers accepted the need for a than in the east-west direction and also explained the shift to the interior, but also argued in favour of fishers’ reluctance to move away from the beaches. retaining their old house on the beach for operational Overall, most fishers – and their wives – believed convenience. In other words, they were seeking two that it would complicate life manifold if they were to houses – or, more accurately, one house without be shifted inland. Many of them argued, quite having to give up their existing dwelling. But the eloquently, that they must remain on the beach for Government’s rules were quite clear on this: that a professional reasons. person would get a new house only after signing away Apart from the fisheries related concerns, the the rights to his existing house on the beach to the fishers foresaw a few other consequences arising out Government. This led to an impasse and finally the of relocation. irstly, with only one half of the villagers people chose to go along with the Government rules, opting to move out, there would be a disruption in in the hope that they would be able to find a way to the social fabric of the community and the impacts hold on to their old houses. That the relocation was could be far-reaching for everyone; for some, the shift partial rather than wholesale in many locations (which would be an opportunity to improve themselves or meant leaving interstitial gaps in villages rather than to get out of the clutches of the elites in their villages, big patches of vacant land that would lend themselves but for some others, it might mean uncertainty and to alienation) also supported their belief in the ‘two- loss of social security. The shift would certainly weaken house theory’, as it had come to be called. There were

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Living on the Edge in Nadukuppam

Natarajan had entered into his new house a week before the tsunami and was homeless by the next week. A local NGO helped him rebuild his house, but this too got washed away in the after- shocks that hit the village a few months after the tsunami. The foundations for a new house had been laid for the third time in a year by another NGO, when the District Administration stepped in to stop the construction because of the apprehension that the land on which the house was being built would be eroded soon. Land erosion in the area had increased manifold with the construction of a wall along the coastline, and this wall stopped some distance from Natarajan’s house, making it most vulnerable to erosion. Now there was no alternative land available for relocating Natarajan and his family. Being very close to Pondicherry, land was very expensive and it would be necessary for the panchayat to pay half the cost to make up the shortfall in the government’s allotment for the purpose. The panchayat shifted the responsibility for payment to Natarajan himself, and he simply did not have the money. A majority of the people who lost their houses in the tsunami in the area had opted for in situ construction, so had no such problems. Unable to do anything about it, Natarajan continued to live next to the half-built pillars on his land, providing an ideal picture of poverty for visitors. It was later clarified that the panchayat would help him to get the piece of land for his house, but Natarajan and his wife were two very anxious people for the time being.

also no clear indications as to what the Government Reluctance to Stay on the Beach would do with the fishers’ homestead land after The two-house concepts and the tenacious arguments acquiring it, but it was certain to be more a political in favour of being able to reside on the beach than an administrative choice. notwithstanding, there were also people who looked This belief in ‘two-house theory’ actually forward to moving away for many reasons. or some encouraged more people to opt for relocation in many people, the shift was an opportunity to diversify or to villages and some NGOs were even facing the task escape the tyranny of the elites in the villages. or of relocating entire villages, which might end up instance, it was said that in villages like Akkaraipettai, undermining the basis upon which the ‘two-house the crewmembers were rearing to go out of the village theory’ stood. and form a new settlement of their own and were suggesting that the owners should not be House-for-house accommodated alongside them in the new settlements. The Tamil Nadu Government’s insistence on replacing It was said that once they leave the village, they would house for house, ignoring the differences in terms of form a panchayat of their own and strive to develop area and the number of persons in the family, as well independently of the mother village. as the possibility of more than one family sharing a Another instance that illustrated the eagerness of house in the past. While this was acceptable to the people to move out came from the same area households with small families, the joint family and concerned the temporary shelters. In Akkiraipettai households considered this to be potentially disruptive. and Keechan Kuppam, the local NGO was building Joint families were reported to constitute up to 15 transit shelters for people on the same sites where per cent of the households in a village and the house- their houses had stood before the tsunami. Each transit for-house idea might mean taking some of them shelter cost Rs. 40,000 and their ostensible purpose apart, which would be reflected in weakening social was to house the people until the permanent houses capital. Also, in case of houses shared by more than were ready in another six months, while the real one family in the past, this would lead to some of the objective was to ensure, by putting up permanent families finding themselves at a loose end. In many constructions on the beach, that the people would such cases, the temporary shelters would become their not be alienated from their land even after moving permanent houses. out to their new settlements. In other words, it was

194 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings India Country Report giving a shape to the two-house theory, although how was for building 170. The only space available here it might work out was hazy. The women in the village was on the seaward side, but the CRZ provisions asked, quite reasonably, why spend so much on transit would not permit construction on that side anyway. shelters when they needed to live only six months in What it meant was that even if the Government and them. They suggested that, instead of the shelters, the the NGOs were willing to invest in housing here, it NGO should give them the money and allow them was futile. to live somewhere else until their houses were ready. In Mulukuthurai in Cuddalore district, it was When it was explained that the shelters were supposed reported that due to delays in acquisition of the land to ensure their ownership of the land, their response by the Government, the NGOs and the local caste was revealing. This was what Kalyani told the study panchayat had to shell out the money to buy 15 acres team: “We have now come to fear the sea so much of land in the neighbourhood. In this instance, the that the sound it makes is very disturbing. We have fishers claimed that since the new land was purchased lost so much that is precious to us – property, loved with their own money (at least partly), it was an ones, children – and the memories haunt us night and additional acquisition rather than an alternate one, so day. When they dig up the place for setting up a shelter, they could not be forced to give up their existing house we find something from a time when the village was sites on the beach to the Government. intact, a small thing like a photo frame, or a piece of In practical terms, the delays in housing meant cloth, and it is enough to bring back the sad memories prolonging the uncertainties for the fishers (after all, and I sit weeping for hours. Is it possible for anyone relocation was a major change for a people who had to go on living here and not be tormented day after seldom faced such a prospect), giving rise to increasing day?” doubts and worries about the possible impacts of Apart from the fear of the sea and bad memories, the shift, and creating problems even for the the fact that a few people had moved into non-fishing implementing agencies, which found it difficult to activities in the interior was another incentive for cope with the vacillating stands taken by the people moving out. Proximity of towns (with the attendant from time to time. Many of the apprehensions of advantages), value of real estate in the areas away from the fishers might turn out to be baseless in practice, the shore and children’s education were the other but so long as the people had not moved into the reasons cited for the preference to move out. houses, this uncertainty would remain. Notwithstanding the intense debates that raged Progress of the Shelter Programmes over the shelter guidelines in the earlier period, the The progress in this programme varied from one pendulum had swung in the other direction in the place to another and from one NGO to another: in implementation phase and it was said that very few some places (e.g., Pudukuppam in Cuddalore district), NGOs adhere to, or even give credence to, the shelter houses had already been handed to the people, while guidelines anymore, except in following the broad in some other villages (for instance, in Kanyakumari limits imposed concerning area and investment for district), even the acquisition of land could not be each house. On the issue of quality of construction, accomplished because of the high cost of land in the the fishers were generally impressed, their frequent area29. The Government’s willingness to pay twice or response being, “ar better than if we were to build even three times the value of its own estimates was the houses ourselves!” not sufficient temptation for people to sell their land. As on 22 December, the progress with housing The progress with in situ construction, as can be reconstruction programmes in Tamil Nadu were as expected, was much faster than with the houses in the given in Annexure 2. new locations. Non-availability of land was also a big problem Community Participation in Shelter Programmes in Villupuram district and this was particularly acute In case of in situ construction, the participation of the in villages located closer to Pondicherry. In Chetti people was regular and their suggestions and Nagar, according to the fishers, there was space only supervision might be contributing to build the houses for building 25 new houses, while the requirement according to their needs. However, in the relocation

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programmes, the extent of involvement of the Issues Related to Shelter in Kerala communities varied from one NGO to another, with Housing in Kerala stood up to the reputation that the a majority NGOs apparently dealing only with the state had for focusing on improving the quality of panchayats. In some cases, they were no more than life of the people: the new houses were one-or two- contractors, seriously going about their business storied structures, worth Rs. 3 lakhs each (it was without trying to engage with the communities in any reported that the NGOs ended up spending more way. Thus, in Kanyakumari, even as new houses were than was specified in the Government plans), not being built in their neighbourhood, the people in some including the cost of land. There was provision for areas like Colachel did not know much about them. water, sanitation and electricity and the houses were There were few specific efforts at involving generally so well built and well equipped that many women in determining the design, location and NGO staff quipped that they did not live in such construction of houses in the relocated areas, in spite houses themselves. The fishers were quite sure that of the fact that the women often had a good idea of the houses would withstand disasters quite effortlessly. how they would want their houses built. In some All this would certainly mean that the tsunami-victims villages in Kanyakumari and Nagapattinam, the had managed to overcome their ‘outlier’ status. The women complained that they did not have a say in the matter of housing and even did not know where number of houses given was at least twice as many as the new houses were coming up. those lost in the tsunami, so there were few gaps in Poor community participation in some locations terms of coverage of people affected by the tsunami (like Kanyakumari) was said to be because of the in the locations officially recognised as being tsunami- relatively few numbers of houses being built in some affected. There were reports that people from the areas, which made it difficult to incorporate changes fringe areas were moving into the newly evacuated to design and other aspects; in other areas, there was temporary shelters, clamouring for recognition as a fear that the needs and demands of the communities tsunami-victims in order to receive houses. would keep mounting all the time, delaying and However, two factors may have stood in the way adversely affecting the programme30. Whatever the of people receiving adequate assistance in Kerala. reasons, this was a lacuna that characterised all group- Between the two villages – Alappad and Aratupuzha housing programmes in the past and could have – which were affected by the tsunami, one (Alappad) overcome in this instance. After all, no one but a was better connected to the mainland, which allowed resident could determine what his housing needs were, many agencies to come and work there at short notice, especially in a context where the specific needs of the while the difficulties to reach Aratupuzha (need to fishing households were not always understood by cross a ferry or taking a long detour) were said to the aid agencies. The women in particular could have have hindered the extent of support received here. contributed to designing their houses according to Moreover, access to the worst affected parts of the their specific needs. village was poor as the approach roads were covered Some NGO functionaries also raised the issue by thick mounds of sand brought by the sea winds, that some of the changes in the new housing further constraining rehabilitation activities. programmes – like the shift from thatched huts to Secondly, as explained in Chapter 4, only three RCC-roofed houses and, particularly, the changes in wards (later reorganised into four) within Aratupuzha sanitary systems (to septic latrines) – might necessitate had been ‘officially’ declared as tsunami-hit, leaving some behavioural changes on the part of the fishers out a number of people who had been as badly and while this might not be a reason for putting better affected as anyone, but had the additional misfortune infrastructure in place, these issues would still need to of not living in the ‘right’ wards. It had been difficult be carefully monitored for a period after the people for a long time to have them officially recognised as had moved in. or instance, one reason for the failure tsunami victims, for the fear of opening the floodgates of sanitary latrines in many temporary shelters was said to be that the fishers were exposed to sanitary for a large number of other people to demand latrines for the first time in life (Muralidharan, assistance as well, but finally the District Administration pers.comm.). allowed some of the families to move into the

196 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings India Country Report temporary shelters, thus granting them ‘official’ victim vulnerability of everyone living in the coastal areas, status. By then, most NGOs had already made their irrespective of whether they had been affected by the commitments and could not add to the numbers, so tsunami or not. rom the livelihood perspective, it might have been a pyrrhic victory for the newly providing better houses would definitely be a more anointed victims. positive intervention for the fishers than, for instance, Within the same Aratupuzha, there were other giving them boats. After all, a house is not just a place victims who had lost their houses in the post-tsunami to live in, but also a means to ensure economic incursion of the sea-waves a few months after the wellbeing of the people, which gives them a sense of disaster; but this was not a part of the ‘official’ disaster, security, makes them creditworthy in the eyes of formal so their losses were not included in the tsunami losses. banking systems and helps them escape being ‘outliers’ These people were living in the local schools at the in several respects. Also, even if the fishers chose to time of the field visits and reported to have received stay on the beach for occupational reasons and rent very little in terms of relief or rehabilitation! They out the new houses, it would mean earning a were promised that there would be a second phase supplementary income that would have no seasonality of tsunami rehabilitation, when their needs would be problems and could reduce their hardships during the addressed, but as one fisherman remarked, “It would hunger months considerably. This is as good a way as need another tsunami to prepare a second list of any to diversify the fishers’ income sources sustainably. victims!” Also, universal housing is a right and also a better In Aratupuzha, people affected by the tsunami means for ensuring social equity than giving a boat, had been living close to the shore and the siting of the because it does not discriminate in terms of gender, temporary shelters away from the shore meant that marital status, caste or occupation, the only criteria of they were now living in new surroundings and with support being the poverty and vulnerability of the new neighbours, although in the same village. The fact people targeted by the programmes. One might go that these tsunami victims received all attention from so far as to say that giving two houses to the fishers is the funding agencies had not gone down well with far more preferable to giving two boats to them. the ‘local’ people, which strained relations between the two groups. The NGOs working in the village The Institutional Context had set up ward committees in each of the selected This chapter briefly discusses the role of different wards and the constitution of the committees too institutions in the rehabilitation of fisheries related had been a bone of contention. livelihoods. Impact of Housing on the Quality of Life and The State Government Livelihoods Apart from the usual quibbles that are part of The experience in Kerala show two things clearly: government rehabilitation efforts anywhere, the state firstly, that the permanent houses had the potential to government in Tamil Nadu was widely seen to have reduce people’s vulnerability significantly and improve handled the disaster admirably, particularly as dealing their quality of life manifold, particularly when with the tsunami was a totally new experience for compared to the conditions before the tsunami. everyone. The Government went about the Secondly, there still remained a number of people rehabilitation programmes in a transparent manner both in the same villages as well as in the adjacent by putting all relevant information was put on the areas, living in thatched huts or poor quality houses, Internet and updated frequently. It also actively who were unable to receive assistance because they solicited public-private partnerships and allowed the had not been affected by the tsunami. They would NGOs and other civil society organizations to take a obviously be the first to be affected in case of a future lead role in the rehabilitation effort, contenting itself disaster. These two factors would hold good in the with coordinating their activities and providing the other states too. backstopping support as necessary. This might have This would highlight the need for a to do with the fact that the NGOs had more money comprehensive and holistic programme to reduce the for rehabilitation than the Government, but its own

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rehabilitation programmes were also markedly The Tamil Nadu Government’s firm stance farsighted and holistic, taking into account the long against the plea of the boat owners to be allowed to term needs of the people and addressing them by take the compensation money and move out was measures that went beyond the tsunami (for instance, highly debatable and highlighted the need for a see the Policy Note of the Department of isheries comprehensive long-term fisheries policy for the state. for 2005). Decentralisation of decision-making On the other hand, the Government’s decision to powers and delegating powers to the district extend assistance to the affected fishers in cash rather administrations also ensured rapid responses to the than in kind turned out to be – perhaps unintentionally crisis. Another important feature of the Government’s – a wise choice, in so far as it allowed a few people to efforts was the coming together of different line move away. Also, it was the compensation money departments to work under a central command (i.e., for boats (which were seldom built, thanks to the the district administration), which helped in responding NGO largesse on this front) that kept the communities to the multiple needs of the affected people afloat in the face of poor fishing, right from the time simultaneously, which was in contrast to the more the relief assistance had been stopped. restricted approaches of the other players in the Lack of clarity was a complaint that was rehabilitation work. frequently levelled at the Government’s directives. This A notable difference from the other disaster led to confusion and also giving different situations in the country in the recent past was the interpretations to the orders in different districts. One very low profile maintained by the political class in such issue related to the registration of boats: in the rehabilitation effort. The near complete absence Nagapattinam and elsewhere, group-ownership was of the political class in the rehabilitation programmes allowed by the Department of isheries, but in in Tamil Nadu was remarked upon by many people Cuddalore, it was reported that boats would not be as having helped the smooth execution of the registered as group-owned, because of the potential rehabilitation activities. However, one cannot but feel for trouble such an arrangement would have for the a little concerned about the lack of a role for people’s administration. Similarly, while some district officers representatives (particularly the panchayats) in the demanded compulsory registration of all new boats decision-making processes at a momentous time like in the post-tsunami period, others were not so this and wonder about its deeper implications in the insistent. Even in districts where this was made long term. But in Kerala, the tsunami was much mandatory, there was no apparent mechanism to politicised, to an extent that some organizations kept ensure the strict implementation of such measures and off working in Kerala on tsunami. several boats thus avoided being registered. The result The Tamil Nadu Government’s insistence on was that no one still knew how many boats were in taking advantage of surplus funds to build better existence in Tamil Nadu now and it would take an houses at a higher unit cost proved to be a very elaborate census to obtain a reliable figure. The productive idea and may have partly stemmed to flow implications for fisheries management as well as for of funds into providing boats. Its shelter guidelines, dealing with future disasters are quite clear. though contested and finally ignored, acted as a There were also differences in the mode of benchmark and helped everyone to focus on the payment of compensation to the tsunami victims. In practical aspects of the shelter business. It was true that the Government could have come up with similar Nagapattinam, the compensation for boats was paid guidelines in other areas, particularly for fisheries sector in full, but in Kanyakumari, only a part of the money– rehabilitation to highlight issues related to problems about Rs10,000 per kattamaram–was provided. The with excess supply and quality control issues in boat remaining amount was deposited in a joint bank building. Unfortunately, the Government’s philosophy account with the Assistant Director of isheries as (compulsion?) of non-interference with fisheries- co-signatory, on the understanding that it would be related rehabilitation efforts in the NGO sector released to the fisherman as and when he produced contributed to its failure to curtail the over-enthusiasm the new boat. Seeing that many fishers had already of some of the NGOs to provide fishing boats in received boats from the NGOs, it was clear that the excess. fisherman would not get a new boat built, so the

198 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings India Country Report money might be a saving for the Government in many areas. Obviously, there was much to be proud Kanyakumari. The fishermen tried to pass off the of in the NGO work. At the same time, there were NGO-given boats as new, but this was not possible also lessons to be learned and ‘unlearned’ from the where the NGOs took care to register the boats. rehabilitation phase for the NGOs. In Andhra Pradesh, the biggest constraint had One of the most significant outcomes to have been the choice of a nodal agency for rehabilitation come out of the NGO involvement in the efforts. The choice of ‘Velugu’, an ongoing state rehabilitation phase were the micro-level studies government rural poverty elimination programme conducted by Praxis in several Nagapattinam villages. focusing on the poorest of the poor with a specific While the focus of these studies was on rehabilitation, mandate and a clearly defined framework to they undoubtedly have a value far exceeding the implement it (see www.velugu.org) to act as the nodal immediate needs of the tsunami. Their significance agency for the tsunami rehabilitation programme, lay in their holistic and multi-layered approach to life which involved short-term, one-off measures and in a fishing community, which took a range of players, addressed the needs of a much wider constituency activities and systems into its ambit. Notwithstanding of people than are covered under Velugu, was minor glitches, the studies were an excellent showpiece problematic. or instance, Velugu’s programme to demonstrate where the NGOs scored over the implementation strategies (group-based; women- Government in their approach to development. Given oriented) did not jell with the objectives of a the relatively short time it took to compile the studies, rehabilitation programme (particularly where a it will be a very worthwhile project to undertake predominantly male-oriented support package – boats similar studies for all villages right along the coast of and nets – was sought to be implemented) and caused India. much heartburn among those not covered. Another Having said that, it is also one of the tragedies of very troublesome aspect of tsunami rehabilitation in the rehabilitation phase that studies such as this were Andhra Pradesh was that information on the progress largely ignored while planning and implementing the of activities was not easily accessible to the public, programmes. A review of the rehabilitation which was in stark contrast to the situation in Tamil programmes indicates that the NGO efforts were Nadu. generally marked by a lack of understanding about the fisheries sector, its people and their needs. This The NGOs was reflected in the inadequacy of interventions in The non-governmental agencies played an important some crucial areas (marketing, credit), while there was role in the relief and rehabilitation efforts to an extent too much emphasis on others (in particular, providing that they dominated the post-tsunami scenario in every boats). This left gaps in terms of coverage of women way. There were many heartening examples of the and other key stakeholders in the production and post- selfless service the NGO personnel did in many parts harvest chains and also reflected in the lack of of the coast and these were much appreciated by the appreciation for indigenous knowledge, institutions fishers. In fact, the fishers suggested, but for the and technologies, which were, after all, important prompt arrival of the NGOs soon after the tsunami strands in development thinking and crucial for to undertake relief, their condition would have been a ensuring the sustainability of interventions in the long lot worse. It helped that some of the NGOs had term. experience of working in other disaster areas – many It was suggested that the Praxis studies were done had come from the earthquake-hit Bhuj area in a little too late in the day (April-May), by when most Gujarat31 – and were equipped to deal with the NGOs had already put together their rehabilitation complex problems that the tsunami had left behind, plans. However, it was very doubtful that many often providing guidance to the Government on how NGOs had done a detailed needs-assessment among to cope with the different facets of the disaster. The their target communities and that even the few who significance of the NGO contribution was reflected did could manage to get anything useful from the in the high esteem in which they were held by the people in those first months (when most proposals Government officers and the fishing communities in for funding were hastily strung together). This was

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because, in the hurry to do something to help the if not worse. Several dormant NGOs came to life all people, the human cost of the disaster was perhaps over the tsunami-belt and their capacity to handle large underestimated: in many villages, the magnitude of sums of money was at best doubtful. This inability, the disaster was such that it had left people shell- together with competition from other NGOs and shocked and it was patently illogical to expect them the compulsion for showing quick results, ended up to respond coherently and rationally about their future in the proliferation of boats on the beaches. In the needs at such a time. There was a need to allow people chaos that ensued, people took a backseat while to stabilise a bit, to come to terms with their grief providing boats at any cost became more important. and to think more rationally once again, before The situation could be gauzed from the fact that many beginning the rehabilitation effort, and from this, one funding agencies reportedly had problems to keep could suggest that the Praxis studies were done at the track of what was happening at the grassroots level right time. with respect to the boat programmes. Quality was The programme for providing RP boats was a another casualty in the process and a majority of boats case in point. Most NGO proposals for providing might not even last beyond two years; in the meantime, boats had been put together quite early on in the post- sea safety would become a major concern. It was tsunami period (mostly within a month after the such a dreadful waste of resources that one would tsunami) when the loss of productive capacity was a be tempted to agree with the conclusion of an NGO major constraint in restoring normalcy in the sector. worker who suggested that simply handing out the Delays in processing the aid proposals and releasing money to the fishers might have been a better option funds by the donors had meant that other donors – than giving boats. including the Government – had begun to meet the In many ways, the same target- and number- demand in the meantime. However, for the NGOs driven approaches that had been held to be the that had committed to working in specific villages characteristic of government programmes were and on specific issues, there was often no alternative replicated by the NGOs. The long-term NGOs, or latitude but to push ahead with provision of boats especially those with some understanding about the as per the original proposal, in spite of knowing that dynamics of the fisheries sector, did try to stem the it was not only futile but also adding to overcapacity tide through workshops to discuss the negative while there remained much to be done in other areas. impacts of increasing fishing fleets beyond certain What was rather surprising was that even NGOs limits; everyone listened piously and even passed that had been working long with the fishers had only resolutions against increasing fishing capacity and then a hazy understanding about their livelihood related went out to do exactly that! In fact, the frenzy actually needs. It was possible, as an NGO functionary forced some NGOs working long-term with the remarked, that the NGO work with the fishing fishers to give a few boats too, if only to avoid communities was confined largely to land-based adverse comparisons with rival NGOs and possible initiatives like micro-credit, health, education, women negative fallout on their long-term plans in an area. and children etc. and seldom focused on the dynamics But, as many people working in such organizations of the sector itself. Still, one could say that many local, suggested, this compromise itself might have long-term, NGOs had a better appreciation of the implications for the long-term plans of the local context and strove for more holistic interventions organization, setting a precedent that it might find compared to the non-local NGOs, who were often difficult to justify in due course. only interested in handing out aid and leave the place32, Thus, with regard to the boat programmes, the and this was reflected in the way many fisheries performance of many NGOs left a lot to be desired. rehabilitation programmes were planned and Almost by any yardstick that the NGO sector uses to implemented. evaluate its performance (use of participatory One major factor was also at work in pushing approaches, long periods of engagement, holistic people to hasten the rehabilitation process: the tsunami interventions, maintaining clear distinctions between generated funds to an unprecedented degree and that development and charity; emphasis on social equity was almost as bad as not receiving adequate support, and environmental sustainability, local institution

200 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings India Country Report building and strengthening, building upon indigenous and now that they had come into existence, there was knowledge and technologies, etc), the boat much justification for their continued existence. In fact, programmes fail to stand up to expectations. There is considering the long-term implications of some of certainly an urgent need for some hard soul-searching the rehabilitation programmes, there was perhaps more by everyone. need for the co-ordination centres now than previously if only to curtail such overenthusiasm in future. This New Institutional Initiatives would require more clarity regarding the role and work Many NGO functionaries remarked on the cordial of the co-ordination centres and a greater degree of relationships that characterised their working with the legitimacy and institutionalization. Government officers in the post-tsunami period. This was particularly noteworthy since the pre-tsunami The Traditional Panchayats relations between the two were often decidedly cold. The traditional panchayats influenced – and were influenced requent interactions bridged the gaps in understanding by – the rehabilitation efforts in a way that had between the two streams and helped forge lasting implications for their continued survival and linkages. The need for Co-ordination among the functioning in the long term. In many cases, they acted NGOs themselves as well as with the Government in as a one-stop shop for the rehabilitation agencies (both the rehabilitation efforts led to institutional initiatives Government and NGOs) to channel support into the such as the NGO Co-ordination and Resource Centre communities. It was reported that several NGOs dealt (NCRC) in Nagapattinam and the Kanyakumari only with the panchayats and rarely had interactions Rehabilitation Resource Centre (KRRC) in with the people themselves, with the result that the Kanyakumari. The performance of these initiatives panchayats came to wield considerable power in over the past few months showed how the emerging determining the flows of assistance into the villages. Government-NGO partnerships might complement While thus being an interface between the and work to the benefit of all concerned parties. communities and the rehabilitation agencies, the The extent of co-ordination varied from one panchayats may also have acted as a barrier, affecting district to another and was also perhaps more the scope and direction of the support programmes. individual-oriented than institutional. Still, it was This contributed to excluding some people and their possible to visualise the potential for more initiatives needs for various reasons and the NGOs too were involving government-NGO partnerships in the often afraid of upsetting the panchayats and had to fall coming years in Tamil Nadu. in line, rather than take independent initiatives to In the meantime, some teething troubles would explore more options for extending support. need to be resolved. The first of these related to the All the same, in many cases, the panchayats did co-ordination centres’ location straddling the no-man’s ensure equity in the distribution of assistance into the land between the government and NGOs, which villages because, after all, the caste code insisted that might sometimes give rise to apprehensions about even when they took advantage of the government being too closely identified either with the Government and the NGOs, they had to ensure equity in the villages, or with the NGOs33 and being co-opted by them. which was the reason and the foundation for their This would require a constant balancing act on the continued existence. When some people did not part of these organizations. The second issue related receive assistance from the government (because their to the long-term vision for the co-ordination centres. boats were not damaged or they did not have any It was true that they came into existence to cater to a boats at all) or from the NGOs (who had their specific need, but it was clear that their role could reasons), the panchayats ensured that the losers received potentially extend beyond the tsunami rehabilitation some kind of assistance, which was mobilised from and co-ordination work, and that they had the two sources: firstly, a lion’s share of the compensation potential to develop a multifarious role in the long- received from the government for boats – which were term development of the areas where they work. seldom built – was appropriated as community fund Although no one realised it at the time, there had and distributed among the people. Secondly, even the indeed been a need for such an institutional framework NGO inputs were handed to the beneficiaries only

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on payment of a fixed sum or, in some cases, by Apart from differences of status, there were two openly auctioning them. In fact, the money thus other facets to the revolt: firstly, it was a clash between generated was reported by many fishers to have helped generations – the new leaders were often in their them survive since the relief programmes came to an twenties, while a majority of the previous leaders were end in April. at least in their fifties. Secondly, this was also a revolt The rehabilitation phase also provided an of the educated people against the largely illiterate or opportunity (excuse?) to the asset-less fishermen to semi-literate old guard. The educated people in fishing topple the leadership of existing panchayats, villages, whose numbers were constantly growing, were undermining the panchayat’s authority and redefining a frustrated lot because their ‘educated’ status meant their role. The conservative, inward looking, old they could not stoop to go fishing anymore and were panchayats were considered to be a constraint in dealing unable to get a respectable job either. They had long with the rehabilitation agencies and obtaining more been a butt of jokes in the villages and were shown as support and this necessitated a new breed of leaders an example of what ‘education’ did to people. If many take over from them. It was the complaint of the old new panchayats were clamouring for assistance to help panchayat leaders that they had been as badly affected people diversify out of fishing, it was partly to do as everyone in the tsunami and were still grieving over with these two factors. their losses when they were already accused of not One outcome of these developments was said doing enough for the people. Thus, the old guard to be growing factionalism in the villages. The old was not only evicted rather unceremoniously, but also panchayat members were now the most dangerous marginalized from taking an active role in the adversaries for the new panchayat leaders and their rehabilitation phase. The new leadership quickly functioning even as the rest of the villagers were forced obtained boats and became boat-owners themselves. to take sides in this conflict. actional violence was Leaders of the old guard met during the field witnessed in places like Akkaraipettai. study contended that experience was an important The tsunami rehabilitation programmes also saw requirement to be a member of the panchayat. The the caste panchayats getting embroiled in legal problems, intricacies involved in resolving tricky issues such as which gave rise to some moves to bypass them or fishing conflicts or social discords (including domestic even suppress them in the long term. It was true that and marital issues) and the tact required to deal with caste panchayats excluded women and people of non- the external world could only come from experience fishing castes from direct34 participation in the panchayat and the fact that the new panchayat leaders were mostly decision-making processes, which was problematic, young meant they would be unable to deal with these but not quite deserving the scorn that had been heaped issues confidently. The former panchayat leaders agreed on them on this account. Undeniably, the panchayats that there were issues that required sorting out, but addressed many important needs of the fishers and the thing to do would have been to seek attempts to dislodge them without putting sustainable accommodation of new people alongside the old, alternatives in place could be potentially catastrophic rather than doing away with one set of people and for the fishers. On the other hand, there was enough replacing them with another. evidence to show that the institutions were amenable The new leaders agreed that they lacked to change and that it would be more practical and experience and it was perhaps not right to remove helpful if attempts were made to reform them to the previous leaders en masse, but they contended that, address the needs of the people more equitably. If in a set up involving a mix of the old and the new, the the panchayats are done away with, it is possible that youngsters would have no voice at all. The problem the glue that held the communities together might with the older group was that they had increasingly weaken and lead to the disintegration of the fishing become alienated from the rest of the village and were communities. becoming a law unto themselves. And their interest was in maintaining status quo, i.e., protecting their own Community Organizations interests, which was clearly unacceptable, particularly The impact of the rehabilitation on ongoing when it was done at the expense of the others. grassroots-level institution building – involving the

202 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings India Country Report formation of self-help groups and producers’ co- beyond the tsunami (the ‘livelihood-centred’ operatives – was not very positive. In some cases, for rehabilitation). In the first instance, the interventions instance in Kanyakumari, the involvement of existing would have meant making an inventory of the losses groups may have yielded some all round benefits, but and replacing the lost assets, while the livelihood- in others, particularly in Andhra Pradesh, this might centred approach would have required making a have led to negative consequences for the groups and thorough assessment of the context in which the the concept of SHG itself. fishers worked and making (often long-term) There were instances (in Kanyakumari) where interventions that might frequently have gone beyond members of particular groups were reportedly replacing the tsunami-related losses. It is likely that most discriminated against in rehabilitation programmes, rehabilitation programmes have been a mix of both, while in others, there was an active cooption of although the demarcation lines between the approaches members from existing groups into new ones. In areas remain rather blurred. Also, considering there is still where the NGOs took a principled stand against much to be done on the rehabilitation front, it will providing boats, they came under fire from their require some more time before such distinctions can groups for not doing enough. This was a real dilemma be clearly made. because, if the NGO stuck to its principles, it stood This study focused on fisheries-based livelihoods, to lose the groups that it had built by investing much rather than on the tsunami per se, and attempted an effort and hard work; on the other, if it gave in to the analysis of the factors that have a bearing on the demands, it would lose its ideological strength and sustainability of livelihoods, which include, inter alia, that would surely have an impact on its own long tsunami and post-tsunami rehabilitation programmes. term work with the people! A few NGOs did seem This meant, in the first place, recognising that the to overcome this problem unscathed, but for a fisheries sector has some unique features that have majority of NGOs, the costs may have been quite determined the evolution of complex systems and heavy. As one NGO representative told us, “It was processes for governing it, which require to be clearly sad to see all the work we had done over the decades understood prior to making interventions. collapsing like a pack of cards in a matter of months Many fisheries-related livelihoods in the areas and right before our eyes too.” On the other hand, affected by the tsunami had been ailing for some time proliferation of village development councils and other and the crisis was deepening over the years. Virtually SHG-like mechanisms was often done without proper all activities in the sector – artisanal and mechanized foundation, with the result that these new groups were fishing, capture and culture fisheries, traditional and no more than channels to distribute boats and other industrial processing, domestic and global trade – were support in the villages. Like the fisheries co-operatives under stress and many stakeholders had been struggling with falling fish catches, rising costs of operation, of yore, people tended to take a mercenary attitude marginalisation and growing vulnerability to factors towards these new groups and this would have long- beyond their control. In other words, the tsunami was term implications for the future co-operative-oriented just another nail on the coffin (albeit a big one!) in programmes in the villages. fisheries sector. Under the circumstances, for a number Conclusions of people, being restored to where they had been prior to the tsunami was at best a doubtful Relevance of the Rehabilitation Programmes for proposition. Sustainable isheries Livelihoods Secondly, experience shows that there were no In the post-tsunami rehabilitation of fisheries simple answers to many of the issues confronting the livelihoods, there has been some ambiguity concerning fishers. Mere replacement of production assets would whether ‘rehabilitation’ meant, in the strict dictionary not automatically lead to ‘sustainable livelihoods’ sense, restoring the conditions of the fishers to the because the production processes were linked to a situation they had been in prior to the tsunami (the range of other activities and stakeholders and also ‘tsunami-centred’ rehabilitation) or whether it was because of the crises in supply, production and intended to address their livelihood needs going demand areas. Much of the government and civil

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society efforts were concentrated on this crisis at the while the crew received support from NGOs time of the tsunami, involving development of in the form of boats. programmes aimed at responsible fisheries • Assistance provided to the post-harvest and management, sustainable livelihood diversification, ancillary trades was sporadic and patchy, holistic responses to the challenges posed by economic resulting in several categories of people (a globalisation, fish loss-reduction and quality- majority belonging to poor and marginalized enhancement programmes etc. There was widespread sections, particularly women) being left out or realisation that some deep-rooted systemic changes receiving inadequate attention; this lack of were necessary to address these issues meaningfully support also contributes to a weakening of the and that in an informal sector populated by a number production and market chains. of poor people, such changes were not easy to • Avoidance of mechanized sector in the NGO implement without adversely affecting the livelihoods rehabilitation programmes contributed to of some (or many) of them, especially as social ignoring the many intermediaries involved in security nets and support systems were largely the production and trade chains at fishing ineffectual. There was also a growing realisation harbours. amongst the policymakers and civil society • People of non-fishing castes (but involved in organizations that community participation was much fishing), those living in the shadow zones, essential for developing meaningful responses to the migrant fishers, and people who were not crises. This was influenced not only by the fact that directly affected by the tsunami but suffered the fishers would ultimately have to face up to the indirectly from its effects or remained vulnerable to future disasters were some other challenges, but also by the realisation that there was categories who received less attention. much that one could learn about sustainable livelihoods from the fishing communities themselves. Impact of Rehabilitation Programmes on Under the circumstances, the tsunami was, as isheries many people have suggested, perhaps an opportunity • The impact of surplus boats on the natural to make fresh beginnings. As to whether issues like resources would be negative, if it is assumed credit, infrastructure and resource management, which that all new boats would be deployed in fishing. have their roots in the past be addressed within the It is possible that a majority of boats cannot framework of tsunami rehabilitation, one could reply be used for various reasons and those that do that the tsunami presented, for the first time, the get to be used are unlikely to last long. This opportunity to address some of the crucial issues means that impact of new fishing vessels on facing the sector in a meaningful manner. It drew fisheries resources, although too much in the enough funds, multi-disciplinary skills, manpower and short term, would reduce in the long term. policy attention to make long lasting contributions to • The insistence of the Government on the sustainability of fisheries resources and the compulsory replacement of mechanized boats livelihoods of the people living upon them. On the to be eligible for receiving compensation could other hand, not being able to address some of the have negative implications on the resources. issues would not only make the rehabilitation efforts • Opportunities for diversification into offshore less than useful but also exacerbate the conditions waters for new species like yellow fin tuna prevailing in the sector. remain hypothetical and their viability is yet to Some of the conclusions that emerge from the be established, indicating that fishing effort will foregoing chapters are summarized as follows: continue to remain focused on the inshore waters in the near future. Coverage of People in the Rehabilitation • With motorized boats, there is a possibility of Programmes change from shrimp to fish based operations, • In terms of coverage, the focus was mainly on with positive implications for the resources, the primary producers, with boat owners fishers, the poorer fish processors and traders receiving compensation from the Government as well as consumers.

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• isheries rehabilitation programmes largely partially met by the rehabilitation programmes, steered clear of fisheries management issues with the result that informal moneylenders have with the result that there are few controls over begun to assume importance in the sector again. the expansion of fishing fleets or even a reliable • Access to informal credit may have become database on their numbers. The possibility of more difficult in the post-tsunami period, a rise in fish catches over the next few years which has implications on the cost of credit could potentially lead to a spurt in boat building and terms of repayment particularly in the mechanized sector, and there • Access to formal credit systems remains as are as yet no systems to control access to inshore difficult as it always has been for many waters. stakeholders in the sector • No sustainable initiatives to make credit Changes in ishing Technology available at affordable rates for the different • Traditional technologies like wooden categories of people involved in fisheries and kattamarams and kanna thonis were marginalized related activities. in favour of RP boats; the latter contributed • No attempts to understand market dynamics to marginalizing women from active fishing or to make interventions to develop the stake operations. of primary producer communities in the major • Decline in the mechanized fleet was a good fish marketing chains. development and this could be partially due to the stand taken by NGOs against support to Impact on Quality of Life mechanized sector. But the construction of new • Improved access to villages, better transport trawlers would indicate that the sector was and communication facilities and provision of perhaps down, but not out. other basic infrastructure (water and sanitation, • Many RP boats face problems of poor quality in particular) is likely to have a positive effect and the communities are ill equipped to handle on people’s life and livelihoods. the technical defects on their own. • The shelter programmes are likely to have a • ew specific programmes to address sea safety positive impact on the fishers’ quality of life, issues, but a bigger concern is the possibility reducing their future vulnerability and enhancing of increased risk at sea from using boats of their physical and economic wellbeing. poor quality, which is likely to become serious • Relocation of fishers to the interior likely to in the near future. affect their ability to go for fishing and also • Surplus capacity on the beaches leads to reduce their access to the beaches. shortage of manpower, affecting fishing operations. • Likelihood of improved access to healthcare • Onshore infrastructure related to fisheries and education in many areas activities likely to improve in some fishing • Special programmes to address the needs of harbours. the vulnerable people – children, aged population, physically or mentally challenged, Impact on Investments and Credit etc, which have the potential to improve quality • Cost of fishing operations went up as a result of life of the fishers of motorisation and increased engine • Some programmes to help the fishers diversify horsepower; this might have more to do with and get into alternate/supplementary income increased fuel costs, but for people who were generation programmes, but their scope and shifted from non-motorized to motorized impact are as yet limited. operations and for people provided with engines of a higher horsepower, this was an Impact on Social Capital outcome of the rehabilitation programmes. • Changes in boat ownership patterns are likely • Need for investments for engines, nets, working to have an impact upon the social relations in capital for both fishers and the fishworkers only the communities

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• Social equity arguments for providing boats to look to the civil society for support, which may crew on joint-ownership likely to fail as the not be forthcoming in such abundance as a result emphasis was on providing boats rather than of aid fatigue. on the sustainability of the arrangements. The same applies to the boats provided to the Summary women’s groups. Of the three major crises characterizing fishing • Possibility of reduced unemployment in the livelihoods in the pre-tsunami period, the impact of villages in the short term as a result of increased rehabilitation on two – decline in fish catches and opportunities on the new boats overcapitalisation of activities – is likely to be negative, • Relocation of the some of the affected while the third – uncertainties related to markets – households likely to lead to disruption of social has remained un-addressed. Thus, from a livelihood networks (including joint families) and perspective, there is a question that whether the boats complications with new neighbours. were an appropriate livelihood intervention at all. As • Existing community-based organizations are the fishers of Pudukuppam (in Cuddalore district) generally weakened; the long-term sustainability asked, when there were no catches in the sea, what of the new initiatives remains suspect. good did it do to have a boat? Then they quoted a • Capacity of the caste panchayats and other Tamil proverb, which roughly translates as “What good traditional structures in the fishing communities is a silver spoon, if there is no food in the bowl?” to cater to the needs of the communities On the other hand, there is a fear that the reduced. rehabilitation programmes might actually have reduced • Splits and factionalism in many villages, which the people’s capacity to help themselves. True, the are likely to have consequences on the socio- tsunami has given ‘visibility’ to fishing communities economic organization of the communities and gave rise to prime time debates about the fundamental problems they face; it also reinforced Impact on Seasonal Deprivation their status as ‘first among equals’ in the coastal areas • Going by the experience of the last six months, and this is a welcome development. At the same time, when the fishers experienced a lean fishing so much aid has gone into the fishing communities period, it did not appear that the interventions over the last year that many fishers are perhaps happier made in the post-tsunami period addressed being fed than feeding themselves and their their seasonality related problems adequately. expectations are only mounting. It took considerable The fishers were depending on their traditional pressure on the part of the women in several villages sources for surviving the lean periods. to force their men to go back to fishing and they • Migration on the rise in many villages, but has were only partially successful. On the other hand, there not received much attention in terms of was a perceptible fatigue on the part of the civil society improving the conditions of the migrants. and the NGOs in providing more aid to the fishers; the Government had already been receiving flak for Impact on the Community’s Capacity to Address pampering the fishers, so the fishers’ access to external uture Disasters support in future is likely to be reduced. • The new houses and other infrastructure might The conclusion one can draw from this is that, at reduce loss of life to a significant extent for the end of the first year after the tsunami, there is still those who received houses, but there remain a much to be done and, possibly, undone. sizeable number of people whose capacity to cope with a future disaster remains as bad as it References always has been. • rom a livelihood perspective, there is no ADB/UN/World Bank, 2005. Recovery ramework in evidence to indicate that the communities can Support of Government of India for a Post-Tsunami cope with a future disaster more confidently. Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Programme, United If anything, there is a likelihood that they will Nations Country Team, India: Chennai.

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Bavinck, M. 2001. Marine Resource Management: Conflict 11 Post-tsunami, on the Coromandel Coast, many of the RP and Regulation in the isheries of the Coromandel Coast, boats began fishing by the end of March 2005 and they were followed by Kattumarams, which began operations in April, and Sage: Delhi the mechanised boats, which began fishing only in June. At least Bhakthavatsala Bharathi S. 1999. Coromandel ishermen some boats could have begun fishing sooner, but the caste – Ethnography of Pattanavar Sub-caste, panchayats imposed a ban on the operations until such time that Pondicherry Institute of Linguistics and Culture, the government announced its rehabilitation packages and the NGOs made commitments towards rehabilitation. If the fishers Pondicherry began fishing sooner, the panchayats feared, that might send GOK 1978. Strategy and Action Programme for a Massive ‘wrong’ signals to the funding agencies (i.e., that the fishers were Thrust to isheries Development and ishermen’s capable of fending for themselves) and thus reduce the quantum of support. Only the fishers of villages like Arcotthurai – who Welfare in Kerala State (1978-83), Trivandrum belonged to the Padaiachi caste (and not the dominant Pattinavar John Swamy, undated. The Tsunami in Kerala fishing caste of the area, hence not controlled by the caste panchayats of the latter) – began fishing operations by late- Joint UN Mission, 2005. Tsunami: One Year After January itself. Kurien, J. 1995. The Kerala Model: Its Central Tendency 12 More details of the rehabilitation packages available at and the Outlier, Social Scientist 23/1-3, New http://www.tn.gov.in/tsunami/tsunami-relief.htm Delhi 13 http://www.disasterwatch.net/Response/DPG.htm#top Praxis, 2005. Village-level People’s Plans, New Delhi 14 Incidentally, this underscores the function of caste panchayats as essentially redistributive Thaddeus, 2005. An Appraisal of Post-Tsunami 15 A distinction is generally made between RP vallams and RP Interventions by Civil Society Organizations in the catamarans, but they are together treated as RP motorised boats ishery Sector of Nagapattinam, NGO Co- for the purpose of this study. ordination and Resource Centre, Nagapattinam. 16 or instance, it was never easy to ascertain the variety and Vivekanandan E, undated. Marine isheries and ish quantity of nets required for a boat. One reason for this was that a fisherman never acquired all his nets in bulk; he bought them Biodiversity in India, http://sdnp.delhi.nic.in/ piecemeal, depending on the season and on the wear and tear, so nbsap/themes/naturalaquabiodiversityms.html could not satisfactorily quantify his needs. Endnotes 17 There were also some historical reasons for the neglect of this part of the coast: The lack of big NGOs or those engaged in 1 The ADB/UN/WB estimate puts the number of damaged long-term development of the coastal fishers in the area was an hatcheries at 5 for the country. important constraint. Very few organisations worked in the fishing 2 ‘Internal’ because no official documents were available in the kuppams because they were considered (rightly) to be better off public domain. than the inland communities and also because of their insular, 3 http://kollam.nic.in/official_statistics_files/sheet008.htm individualistic nature, so the focus of attention in the area had been mostly the dalits. The recurring feuds between the Vanniars 4 http://alappuzha.nic.in/tsunami-status.htm and the Pattinavars on the Coromandel Coast also made NGOs 5 John Swamy, The Tsunami in Kerala to think twice about working with fishers. 6 http://thrissur.nic.in/damage_details.htm 18 Special mention must be made of the studies conducted by 7 John Swamy, The Tsunami in Kerala Praxis – see Chapter 7. 8 It must be noted that the infrastructure in coastal Tamil Nadu 19 The role of dalits came up as an important issue on the was generally much better in 2004 than it was in Orissa at the Coromandel Coast, particularly in Nagapattinam district, and time of the Super Cyclone in 1999 and in Andhra Pradesh at the this study only focuses upon their fisheries related livelihood time of the cyclone of 1996. concerns. Considering that their role in the sector was largely 9 or instance, using the figures provided in the Statistical similar to that of the women, this section discusses them together. Handbook 2004 of the Government of Tamil Nadu (http:// 20 According to Bavinck (2001), the number of single-headed www.tn.gov.in/deptst/tab08_01.htm), which gives the total households in his study village was 16 percent; while concrete number of catamarans in the state as 31,695 in 2003-4 (which numbers were not available, in many villages covered by this possibly includes the RP catamarans), it is very likely that the study, anecdotal evidence put the single-headed households number of catamarans reported to be damaged or lost in the between 15 and 20 percent of the total number of households tsunami (35,530, which includes 4440 partly damaged boats) in a village. was on the higher side. 21 Not surprisingly, none of the RP boat owners who obtained 10 This was certainly true in case of fish processors in Akkiraipettai in Nagapattinam district and of the migrant fishers in some parts 50 percent subsidy from the State Government for replacing of East Godavari in Andhra Pradesh. their boats found it necessary to obtain the balance from the

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 207 India Country Report banks under the subsidised credit scheme introduced by the than the amount generally allotted in housing programmes for Central Government. the poor raises a doubt: would the new provision apply to all future housing endeavours? If the amount was fixed after a 22 http://www.disasterwatch.net/Response/DPG.htm#top thorough analysis of the vulnerability of the people to disasters, 23 Obviously, this had more to do with ensuring regular supply of it would require the same provision to be made for all future crew for their own boats and less with concern for the health of constructions in the coastal areas, as any shortfall would imply natural resources; but, as it turned out, they were at least aware compromising on the standards. of the problems in upsetting the status quo without laying firm 29 foundations for the alternatives to take root. The total requirement of land for relocation and rehabilitation purposes was estimated as 586 hectares and out of this, as of 24 There were some RP boats too, which were used for marine 22nd December 2005, some 80 hectares was yet to be acquired fishing operations during some months, but the kanna thonis (http://www.tn.gov.in/tsunami/ tsunami-relief.htm) were operated round the year and were the main fishing units for 30 a majority of people. On the contrary, in the case of an NGO that had put considerable effort into enhancing community participation in 25 There was at least one instance where boats were provided to the design and construction of the new houses, initially there the fishers through women’s groups (in the aftermath of 1996 was a feeling that the process took too long, but in the end, the cyclone in Andhra Pradesh) and it failed miserably. There was results were seen to have been very positive and well worth the also an attempt to channel development credit to the fishermen time and effort. through women in some states, and the women often ended up repaying the loans from their earnings. 31 On the other hand, NGOs that worked with fishing communities affected in the Orissa super cyclone were not very 26 Women’s involvement in fishing is a general feature in many conspicuous in Tamil Nadu – this was a pity because the lessons backwater fisheries on the east coast of India, and can be seen in learned in Orissa could have been useful here. West Bengal (Sunderbans), Orissa (Mahanadi delta), Andhra Pradesh (Godavari delta) and Tamil Nadu (Pichavaram). 32 In Kanyakumari and Kerala, where there had been many NGOs working with fishing communities, the influx of new NGOs 27 The difference in the quantity of fuel used between Kerala was rather limited. On the Coromandel Coast, where few NGOs and several parts of the east coast is said to be due mainly to had been working in the past, NGOs from the outside did most different engine horsepower of the engines used – the OBMs on of the relief and rehabilitation work. Kerala coast sported 10 HP engines (using petrol and kerosene) and bigger boats used 20 HP and in places like Vizhinjam, even 33 There indeed were apprehensions on either count in different went for two engines of 20 HP each. The long-tail engines on districts. the east coast were of 5-7 HP, using diesel. The fishers of Kerala 34 Bavinck (2001:88), for instance, notes that non-participation were more concerned about speed and travelled long distances in panchayat meetings did not mean that women played no role to reach the fishing grounds, while the east coast fishers generally at all in issues of sea tenure, and argues that their involvement stuck to near shore waters and used the engines mainly to reach was secondary and mediated by the men. The Praxis studies in the fishing grounds and return to the shore (Baburao, many villages in Nagapattinam district show that the pers.comm..). women – particularly old people and widows – had no difficulty 28 The fact that in both Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the support for in meeting the panchayat members and getting assistance from housing in the tsunami-affected regions was many times higher them.

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Annexure 1: List of places visited during the field study

State District Town/Village Tamil Nadu Nagapattinam Nagapattinam (fishing harbour) Tharangambadi Akkaraipettai Keechankuppam Kallar Nagoor Arcotthurai Poompuhar Kanyakumari Colachel Muttom Keezha Manakudy Mela Manakudy Cuddalore Mulukuthurai Pillumedu Devanampattinam Thammanampettai Pudukuppam Villupuram Anumandai Kuppam Chettinagar Koonimedu Kuppam Nadukuppam Chinna Mudaliar Savidi Chinglepet Reddy Kuppam Pudukalpakkam Pondicherry Pondicherry (fishing harbour) Kerala Kollam Alappad Alapuzha Aratupuzha Vattachal (Aratupuzha) Andhra Pradesh Nellore Govinda Pallipalem Prakasam Kothapatnam Vodarevu Guntur Muthayapalem West Godavari Pedamynavani Lanka Biyyaputippa Vemuladeevi West East Godavari Vodalarevu Pallam Neelarevu BCV Palem Lakshmipatipuram Uppada Kakinada (fishing harbour)

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 209 Indonesia Country Report Annexure 2: Progress of house reconstruction programmes Nadu in Tamil

210 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings The Role of Traditional Panchayats in Coastal ishing Communities in Tamil Nadu, with Special Reference to their Role in Mediating Tsunami Relief and Rehabilitation

by N. B. Gomathy reelance Documentalist, India

January 2006

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Contents

Glossary ...... 214 Section I: Introduction ...... 215 The Coastal Stretch ...... 216 Caste ...... 216 Inland ishing ...... 216 Other Caste References ...... 216 Historical References...... 217 Traditional ...... 217 Modern ...... 217 Displaced in the Last Decade ...... 217 The Pattinavar Community ...... 218 Community Cohesiveness...... 218 Section II: Governance ...... 219 Role of the Panchayat ...... 219 Community Temple and Rituals ...... 219 Rituals...... 219 Temple...... 219 Justice ...... 220 Transgressions ...... 220 Judgements ...... 220 inance ...... 221 Village Income ...... 222 Village Expenses ...... 222 Transparency...... 222 Qualities of Panchayatars...... 223 Eligibility Criteria ...... 223 Women in Governance and Community...... 224 Women in the Panchayat ...... 224 Women in the Village...... 224 Section III: Bridging Relationships ...... 224 The 64-village Chain ...... 224 Nagapattinam ...... 225 Cuddalore ...... 225 Vizhupuram ...... 225 Kanchipuram ...... 226 Relationship with the Police ...... 226 Electoral Politics ...... 227

Section IV: Historical Transformation of Governance Structure ...... 227 The Nattamayi Structure ...... 227 Changing the Nattamayi...... 228

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The Changing Chain ...... 229 The Democratic Panchayat...... 229 Comparisons with the Nattamayi...... 230 Integration ...... 230 Conflict ...... 230 Mechanization of Technology ...... 230 Section V: Tsunami ...... 231 The Death Toll...... 231 Disposal of the Dead ...... 231 Immediate Relief ...... 231 Role of Supporting Villages ...... 231 Distribution of Immediate Relief ...... 231 Distribution Process...... 232 Issues in Relief ...... 232 Aid ...... 232 Enumeration...... 232 Redistribution of Compensation and Aid ...... 233 Quantum of Aid ...... 234 Community Estimates ...... 234 Membership ...... 234 Shares ...... 234 Mechanized ishing Craft ...... 235 RP ishing Craft Given by Non-governmental Organizations ...... 235 Compensation for Women ...... 235 Enforcement of Redistribution ...... 236 Housing ...... 236 Relocation ...... 236 Refusal to Shift...... 236 Shifting Close By ...... 237 Section VI: The Communities Post-tsunami ...... 237 The Post-tsunami Panchayats ...... 237 Competence ...... 237 Accountability ...... 237 Issues in inance ...... 237 Shrewdness in Acquiring Compensation ...... 238 Aggravation of Historical Conflict ...... 238 The uture ...... 238 Changes in Ecology ...... 238 Restarting Work ...... 239 ear of the Sea...... 239 Education...... 239 Endnotes ...... 240

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Glossary Mari: an incarnation of Shakti, Hindu goddess, worshipped all over the State ashram: religious institution usually presided by a spiritual teacher mariyal: ostracism chappals: sandals medu: dune of sand on the coast merku: west; refers to the people living inland to the chettiar: A Hindu caste category referring to people west who undertake financial and trading responsibilities. They occupy a higher caste ranking than the Pattinavars; nagoor andavan: a Muslim patron saint of all fishermen, though the latter claim to be sub-group or a different irrespective of their religion nomination. Unlike the Pattinavars, the Chettiars are nattamayi: the nattar system, with prescribed codes of usually inland groups. The word is also used authority and governance interchangeably with nattar (or head of village). The Chettiar village functions as the treasurer of finance in nattar: the chieftain of the village the 64-village system of the Pattinavar panchayats. neelatchiamman: an incarnation of Shakti; the deity of the sea chinna: small neeru neruppu mariyal: fire/water; refers to the more dharmakarta: This is a position linked to a temple that severe social and economic ostracism that involves attends particularly to its administration, rituals and the entire family property. These positions are inherited within villages. They support the Chettiar or nattar in their work and ooru: village, community preside in his position in his absence. These could also padiayachi: one of the caste groupings that undertakes be bureaucratic government employees who marine fishing administer temple trusts. panchayat: the local village governance structure. There grama kattupadu: village discipline—the willingness to are references to two kinds: the ooru panchayat that is bind individual actions to collective will. It is used when the internal governance structure of the Pattinavar referring to village cohesiveness, collectivity and community, and the gram panchayat that is part of the governance. formal political structure of the government. idai valai: middle net panchayatar: members of the panchayat jamaat: Muslim community pangali: members of families/kin groups from the same caste, sharing both livelihood and community karaiyar: literally means ‘those living by the seashore’. concerns In Cuddalore, Pattinavars are also called karaiyars, though this term is considered offensive in parivattam: a ritual in the marriage ceremony bestowing Kanchipuram. membership, wherein the person becomes a pangali— an adult villager willing to undertake family and karyadarsi: secretary who assists the head of the community responsibility and entitled to a share in panchayat in his work and preside over community the village resources governance in his absence patta: land deeds kattumaram: boats traditionally used by Pattinavar pattam: forehead ornament tied during the wedding fishermen, made by tying logs of wood together, with in a ceremony called thalaikattu/parivattam a capacity to carry small crew for day fishing Pattinavar: caste grouping marking marine fishing kuthu: annual auction of village catch to merchants at communities. The word is said to be derived from fixed prices that is collected by the panchayat on behalf two sources: pattu meaning silk, referring to the trade of the community engaged by these villages in the past; and pattinam kuzhu: cooked food offered to the village deity and meaning towns, referring to people who settled in shared by the entire village towns near the sea.

214 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings India Special Study periya nattars and chinna nattars: the two subcategories Section I: Introduction of the Pattinavar caste, literally meaning ‘big’ and This study aims to explore the nature of the Pattinavar ‘small’ caste panchayats that exist along the Coromandel coast periya valai: beach- or shore-seine in India, stretching from Nagapatttinam to Chennai. It also examines the role of these panchayats in periya: large ensuring community resilience, particularly after the pillai: caste category, used interchangeably with chettiar tsunami, during aid redistribution. A total of 35 villages in the study, a group engaged mostly in trading were covered in six districts: eight in Nagapattinam, three in Karaikal, five in Vizhupuram, five in Cuddalore, podhu: common eleven in Kanchipuram and three in Chennai. podhu gramam: This is a title given to the village The study report is divided into six sections. The functioning as common ground in the 64-village system first section introduces the study, describes some of the Pattinavar panchayats. In a dispute, if one of features of the coastal stretch in the six districts, some the villages has issues with the village chosen as the of the caste references of the Pattinavars, histories site of the meeting, the meeting will be called in the referred to by communities and the values that podhu gramam with its panchayatars acting as witnesses characterize the fishing communities. on behalf of the community. The second and third sections focus on the role sabha gramam: This is a title given to the village of the panchayats in the governance of the fisher functioning as the secretary in the 64-village system communities. The second section specifically looks at of the Pattinavar panchayats, and in charge of calling the role of the panchayat in community rituals, all the villages for meetings. dispensing justice and in terms of financial responsibilities. This section also looks at the qualities sabha: meeting of the panchayatars, and the role of women in Shakti: Hindu goddess, consort of Shiva governance. surku valai: purse-seine nets used in mechanized fishing The third section focuses on the role the panchayat to harvest schools of fish, triggering conflicts between plays in bridging vertical relations with other Pattinavar the mechanized and artisanal fishing sectors communities as well as with the police and the system of electoral politics.These two sections do not tehsildar: official of the revenue department of the differentiate between traditional (nattamayi) governance State government, officiating at the tehsil (taluk) level structures from the modern ones (village panchayat), thalaikattu: see parivattam/pattam but focus on the role of the village governance in thalaivar: headman general; the terms nattar and panchayat are therefore used interchangeably in these sections. thambalam mathrathu: exchange of platters of fruits and The fourth and fifth sections look at two kinds offerings like betel nuts and leaf between families to of transformations that affect the community. Section mark marriage engagements our specifically looks at the transformation of thiruvizha: temple festival traditional governance systems into democratically determined ones. It outlines the structure of the thozhiyil mariyal: a less severe form of economic nattamayi as it existed, its process of change, the nature ostracism, which bars the fisherman from becoming of the democratic panchayat, and the integration and a member of the crew, but excludes the family conflict between traditional and modern values turai: street (particularly mechanization of fishing technology). vanniar: a Hindu caste, considered backward The fifth section looks at the communities post- tsunami, particularly the processes for the distribution vari: tax, sometimes used to mark village membership, of immediate relief and rehabilitation aid. It covers particularly in Kanchipuram some of the ways village panchayats redistributed aid velan: Hindu god, the son of Shiva and Shakti to ensure equity in the villages.

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The concluding section looks at the post-tsunami Kanchipuram’s proximity to Chennai has altered changes in panchayats. It also outlines some future these villages significantly. However these villages still concerns of the communities in general. tend to retain many of the common practices of governance, especially those related to finances. These The Coastal Stretch settlements are denser, with the streets of the settlement The six districts covered in the study from the south organized into individual villages (also called turais), to the north were Nagapattinam, Karaikal, Cuddalore, like in the city of Nagapattinam. Vizhupuram, Kanchipuram and Chennai. The nature Many of the villages close to Chennai have sold of the sea coast and the geographical peculiarities of much of their land to people building large holiday the immediate habitat have caused some fundamental bungalows near the seashore, to industries and to the differences in the structure and evolution of villages entertainment business. The villages of Chennai district up the coast. are situated within the city and merge with the structure Nagapattinam and Karaikal districts are the closest of the city. to the Palk Bay. The villages of Karaikal are nested within the chain of Nagapattinam villages. The area Caste has rich fishing grounds and is close to Sri Lanka. The study broadly covers the panchayats of Pattinavar Due to this very proximity, the Nagapattinam and villages with one lone exception of a padiayachi Karaikal fishermen are often caught in the crossfire community. Pattinavars are characterized by their of the militant unrest in the region. Lives of fishermen, willingness to fish in the sea. It is only from the particularly those from the villages in the farthest south southernmost end of Nagapattinam that fishing of Nagapattinam district, have been lost in the villages are populated by padiayachis, who also took conflicts. ishing in the area is often prohibited because to sea fishing. of national security concerns affecting the villages. Cuddalore too has rich fishing grounds. Unlike Inland ishing the linear spread of villages in the other districts, some Inland or river fishing refers to fishing undertaken in of the villages in this district are found in clusters. sea channels running close to the shore and river Several seawater channels bisect the land close to the mouths. These river mouths in particular are rich in shore. These channels naturally divide the villages into fishing grounds and have in some instances historically natural groups, while isolating others (or clusters of acted as trade channels. Inland fishing was usually seen them) from the mainland. or instance, one of the as being safer and therefore lower in the occupational study villages is accessible only by boats plied on the hierarchy, and was hence to be done by older members channel separating the village from the mainland. rom of the community, by women or by scheduled castes the channel mouth, villagers need to walk a significant or other backward castes, particularly in Nagapattinam distance to reach their hamlet on the seashore. A motorable road into the village was only built a decade and Karaikal. In Cuddalore, though, transected as it is ago. Very close to it is another hamlet, with which it by sea channels, Pattinavars undertake both inland and shares a temple. sea fishing in different seasons, and one is not held to rom Vizhupuram onwards, villages are once be superior to the other. In Kanchipuram too, again arranged in linear fashion, and are divided from Pattinavars are engaged in both sea and inland fishing. the rest of the state by the East Coast Road (ECR). This road has become very important, due to increasing Other Caste References traffic between Chennai and Pondicherry. It has also While most villagers agree that they belong to the accentuated the modernizsation process and increased Pattinavar caste, there are differences in how they refer the influence of the non-fishing settlements in the west. to themselves across the coast, depending on their The villages in Vizhupuram are some of the most origin myths, history and relations with surrounding modernized ones covered in this study. The straight villages. One internal division was chinna (small) and coastline starting from Pondicherry extending down periya (large). However, since the chinna Pattinavars are to Kanchipuram and then Chennai does not provide considered to be of lower status, there was hesitancy rich fishing grounds. in being identified as a chinna Pattinavar.

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Down the coast, the villagers also referred to affluent, thriving on trade with Ceylon (Sri Lanka). It themselves as chettiars, maintaining that both peoples is only in the last four centuries under colonisation came from the same source. Those who settled in the that they completely lost their trade and became west (merku, inland) became known as chettiars or pillais impoverished. and engaged mostly in trading. Those who stayed by Two villages claim their historical origins to the sea were called Pattinavars. (In one instance, these references made in ancient Tamil texts. More than 10 were supposed to be those who settled close to the villages claim that they have been in existence for towns by the sea.) In Karaikal, most of the villagers several centuries. One of these claims to be as much referred to themselves primarily as chettiars. These as two thousand years old. A few other villages date communities displayed pride in their excellent and their history to more than 200 years ago, but are not transparent finance systems, considered the traditional sure of the exact period. occupation of chettiars. In the 64-village system of Nagapattinam and Karaikal (refer to section on the Modern 64-village system), the village in charge of accounts Villages have grown considerably in the two centuries was called the chettiar village. due to population increases. New villages came into This identification may represent an aspiration to being, formed by moving away from the mother a better social status within the Hindu caste hierarchy, village into newer locations for settlement.2 In the where chettiars are known to be higher than the beginning a few families moved in, followed by more Pattinavars. In other districts, villagers claimed that they people who joined them. One way the process took hesitated to call themselves chettiars in front of place was through people moving into a village when outsiders, because they might not receive the benefit their daughter married into a family living there, of reservation in state resources (education, especially if they had a problem in their own village. employment) accorded to backward and scheduled In such cases, a group of families would usually move castes. They point out that many of the traditional together. fisherfolk are extremely poor, despite their caste status, This population growth has been particularly high and such reservation is critical for their forward during the phase of mechanization of fishing along movement. the coast in the last half of the twentieth century. The In Cuddalore, the Pattinavars also referred villages that record a high rate of growth are rich in themselves as karaiyar (those living by the sea shore), natural resources. In two villages, the land is fertile while Pattinavars meant those that settled in towns and the water excellent; there are plenty of palm, (pattinam). In Kanchipuram, however, it was pointed coconut, mango and cashewnut trees. In another village, out that to be called a karaiyar was derogatory, it is said that anything that is planted grows. Two of signifying a significantly lower status and used only by the villages have excellent fishing grounds. One is rich non-fisherfolk to humiliate fishing communities. in mineral resources, and the coast next to the other Calling them karaiyar is considered so grievous an has both muddy ground as well as rock formations offence that physical retaliation is justified. on the seabed, both of which increase the presence of fish schools in the vicinity. The river next to another Historical References village is a critical trade route. It has several water Efforts to trace the historical origins of the community channels to carry goods to the river mouth developed remained inconclusive. during the colonial trade. Some reports say that it dates from before the colonial period. Traditional The earliest accounts claimed that the original Displaced in the Last Decade inhabitants of the village were people who fled from Three villages traced their history at their current sites Poompuhar,1 when it was submerged more than 600 to less than half a decade ago. One of these is about years ago. While fleeing west, the wealthy moved inland 60–70 years old. This is part of a cluster of 40–50 (chettiars), while the poorest stayed near the sea and villages that is connected with a particular temple. The survived by fishing (Pattinavars). They were relatively state government has displaced them recently. They

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are not traditional shore dwellers but used to live in communities pride themselves on their unity and forests, though they used to fish for a livelihood. There harmony. they had to pay a sum of Rs 11 every month to the The interpretation of these values in individual government for staying on public land (this amount and community action has altered over time with was later increased to Rs 136). People protested, modernization and also in the aftermath of the claiming that they could not afford this and then came tsunami. to settle here. Six people who have concrete houses are still living in the forests. One village was relocated Community Cohesiveness in May 1969 because of the Kalpakkam nuclear The fisher communities are all from the same caste reactor. In another case, people left their village after and related to each other through kinship groupings. serious conflict and resettled in a new village, which is All members of the village are pangalis (kin stakeholders) now only a few decades old. from the same caste, sharing both livelihood and community concerns. Inter-caste marriages are not The Pattinavar Community encouraged—such marriages, especially with lower- Communities are central to the Pattinavars right down caste persons, can be severely punished with ostracism the coast from Nagapattinam to Chennai. These are by the community. seen as being essential to fulfil their life purpose as ishing, in which men face the sea together, makes seen by them: ‘The main duty of a fisherman is to go trust between each other critical. Profits from fishing between land and sea.’ are risky, and individual income erratic. Unlike These fisherfolk claim that there are five critical agriculture, it is not possible to define boundaries of values that determine their character. One is their ownership in the sea; and determining individual honesty. People in Karaikal, for instance, narrate that entitlement is critical. ailure to do so can lead to severe getting credit is never difficult for fishermen from conflicts over sharing resources, escalating into blood villages in the west (merku referring to non-fishing feuds that extend over several decades. villages), where their word alone serves as guarantee. ishing communities have evolved mechanisms The second critical value that fishermen hold dear to ensure division of risks and profits. The is autonomy. Villagers in many villages recount that predominant work relationships are based on shares fishermen are proud to be the only people who are on the catch obtained. Each member of the crew independent and do not tie their hands to earn wages. bears a portion of the risk and is entitled to a share in Underpinning this value is the equality of status the catch. Shares could also be given to the vulnerable between all the members of the village. (old people) in the village or used for community The third value that fishermen pride themselves purposes and pools as a buffer in individual problems. upon is generosity. ‘isherfolk are generous. They fish The system is egalitarian in that each member is and then give away the catch.’ Community leadership answerable only to himself and is not bound by was marked by pratices of generosity, building temples hierarchical wage relations. for the village, sharing periya valai catch, ensuring safety A critical collective concern of the village and the nets for the vulnerable persons in the community. panchayat is maintaining peace. During conflict between The fourth value is courage. ‘isherfolk (men, members, the entire village acts to resolve it, restore women and children) are the only ones who run to balance and compensate damages incurred. the seashore to watch a storm. Running away from the sea does not cross our minds.’ Staying out on the There are some instances along the coast of villages sea longer and braving difficult seas are marks of with exemplary records of collective support: bravery. In one village, a significant number of men • One village undertakes all medical expenses died because they ran to the shore without incurred because of accidents and illness for understanding the magnitude of the wave. all members of the village, extending up to The fifth value is unity. ‘ishermen are short- about Rs 1 lakh in one instance. tempered and given to fits of passion and fighting; • Post-tsunami, all the members of one village and they are equally quick to forgive.’ isher decided to stay together in the temporary sheds

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in a gesture of unity, especially to support Community Temple and Rituals people who have lost dear ones. By staying Rituals together, their hearts would be lightened by The nattar/panchayat is present at or presides over all interaction. the rituals and functions marking the life cycle of the • Members in one village recount that there has villagers: birth and death ceremonies, ear piercing, been no history of conflict in their village to marriages, etc. Traditionally, marriage proposals could date. The people of the village argue vigorously only advance with the nattar as witness and, in some in the meeting, but all animosity is left behind instances, only with his approval. at the boundaries of the village meeting hall. The nattar was first informed about any marriage contracts (thambalam mathrathu) in the village. He then Section II: Governance enquired into the eligibility of both sides before All fishing communities studied (with the exception sanctioning and witnessing the formal engagement. of one in Chennai city) had formal internal governance The first invitation to the wedding was extended to structures. These structures and processes had been him. He was garlanded first during the wedding and evolved historically to resolve and prevent conflicts made to sit on a platform marking his status. between members of a community or between In some villages in Nagapattinam and Karaikal, communities. During conflict between members or the nattar ties a pattam (forehead ornament) during the villages, the entire community acts to resolve it, restore villager’s wedding, bestowing membership. The balance and compensate damages incurred. A critical groom then becomes a pangali—an adult villager willing traditional structure is the ooru (community) panchayat. to undertake family and community responsibility and The nattar/panchayat acts as a representative of entitled to a share in the village resources. This ritual is community belief, emotion and action. It fulfils several called parivattam or thalaikattu. functions like maintaining community rituals and The meaning of many of these rituals has reduced structures, conferring membership and belonging, or altered over time (with the changes in traditional resource distribution, grievance redressal and governance practices and modernization) with dispensing justice. practising differing across districts. or instance, Role of the Panchayat decisions about marriage are more centred in families, Traditionally, the internal role of the panchayat (also with lesser community and panchayat involvement. referred to as chettiar or nattar where applicable) is to Tying pattams no longer marks village membership maintain grama kattupadu3, critical in maintaining in Kanchipuram. Instead of marriage marking community cohesiveness. This bonding was through membership, the communities now consider any many methods, and served specific purposes— member who is 18 or above to be a member who organising/presiding over community rituals and has to pay a village vari (similar to the payment to the ceremonies (religious and social) and conferring fisheries societies). membership; dispensing justice; resource sharing, including maintenance of accounts open to public Temple scrutiny. In modern times, the ability to ensure kattupadu All the villages have a temple and organise festivals depended on the power that the panchayat still wielded collectively. Many of the deities installed in these over the community. temples are associated with community folklore. A Second, the village panchayat mediated/bridged critical one is around finding the idol. In at least three relationships with all other external institutions and villages, it is claimed that the idols were found when structures (including other Pattinavar villages) except nets were cast in certain portions of the sea, marked during times of serious conflict requiring external by unusual changes like bubbling or schools of fish.4 intervention, and in relation to state matters like One of the bits of post-tsunami folklore is that the revenue, justice, conflicts with neighbouring villages places of religion and spirituality of all faiths were of other castes, dealings with agencies of electoral not damaged in the tsunami.5 politics, etc. or instance, government schemes have The temple is the central community space. In to be routed through the panchayat. many instances, this space sanctifies community values.

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or instance, the temple is seen as a space where truth Justice has to be spoken; and therefore the accounts books Dispensation of justice is a critical function of the and the minute books are stored here. In addition to panchayat. Thus the panchayat has the power to pass this, temples also own land bestowed upon them by judgements as and when required to resolve conflicts communities; in some cases, communities reside on within the village and between villages. The severity lands owned by temple trusts, as in the case of two of sentencing depends on the nature of transgression villages covered in this study, where the settlement land and their power to enforce their judgements. is owned by a temple trust. Two other villages own their temple lands collectively and their administration Transgressions is a function of village governance. Two broad categories of transgressions can be A critical function of the temple is to determine identified. The first is impropriety of action within family belonging. Members contribute to temple construction and community—rude/aggressive conduct in the and maintenance and its festivals. Most villages will community; conflict within families; romantic liaisons organize a thiruvizha (festival) usually annually. As part not approved by the family/community, particularly of this village festival, an idol of the deity is often for women; sexual misconduct and sexual harassment; taken from the temple around the village. In some and failure to respect public property or to adhere to instances, the deity is immersed in the sea and is to community rules and rituals. Villagers were extremely reluctant to discuss details of many of these cases, play in the water.6 These festivals are believed to be especially those related to sexual misconduct and critical for community well-being, and are an indication family fights. of village unity. Most seriously fractured and The second was conflict in sharing of resources, conflicted villages still continue to build a temple and particularly at sea (damage to nets or equipment, right organise the annual temple festival. ailure in this is to fishing at a particular spot, mechanized vs. artisanal usually a consequence of severe conflict or failure of conflict of interests, sharing of catch, contribution to governance. community funds). These fights could occur within Villagers in a few communities with incomplete the village and between villages. The nature of the temples point to these structures as the consequence judgement levied will depend on the extent of damage. of irreconcilable factions among the members in the village. In spite of the strong influence of the temple Judgements on the community, Pattinavar fisherfolk claim that they The judgements and the actions taken are of different accept practices of different faiths in theirs. or kinds—private counselling, where the issue is sorted instance, across the coast, fishermen call to nagoor out within the conflicting people as quietly as possible; andavan (a Muslim patron saint of all fishermen, public counselling; collective reprimands; fines for irrespective of their religion) in times of distress in compensation of damage; and severing ties with the the sea or while setting out, and velan while casting the community (the less severe economic ostracism periya valai. In a curious rendering of the story of followed by the more severe social and economic Mother Mary in Velankanni, one villager narrates that ostracism and public humiliation). Mari (a version of Shakti worshipped all over the ines: Many panchayats resort to levying fines on the state) was the Mary in Velankanni. person, with the amount varying from village to In every village along the coast, there are three or village. It depends on the damage caused and the four families who have converted to Christianity. person’s willingness to accept his transgression. This Conversion across religions could (like cross-caste is the least severe form of punishment. ailure to marriages) be punished with community ostracism. comply can result in the panchayat fining the person In some instances it is claimed that people have increasingly severe amounts or meting out other reconverted back to Hinduism when they find the punishments. new religion difficult. In a few villages, this was seen or instance, in one village a fine of Rs 500 was as a personal choice, irrelevant to community imposed on those who stripped the barks of the trees belonging.7 for firewood. The women were warned that if they

220 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings India Special Study repeated this mistake, the fine amount would increase An instance was narrated about a girl seen ‘going to Rs 5000, with an amount of Rs 1000 being given out’ by a panchayat member. The mother was called to the person who informs the panchayat about this. and asked to keep her daughter under check. The In another village, one of the villagers was fined Rs woman refused to accede to this demand, and the 5000 for harassing a woman at a large Carnatic music girl and the mother were placed under mariyal. concert organized by the village. The panchayat acted immediately, because the eventuality of this Public humiliation: Respect is critical to fisherfolk. transgression had already been considered in an earlier A severe way to punish transgressions is to strip an meeting and the amount of fine to be levied agreed individual of his respect, by publicly humiliating him. upon. A transgressor could be made to ride a donkey around the village bearing a pot with holes that has muddy Severing ties with the community: ailure to pay water tricking down his back. Stealing coconuts could a fine can result in mariyal (ostracism). In these closely result in having three hung around his neck. If women knit communities, severing ties can have serious were to go ‘astray’, they may have to go around the consequences on the individual. Ostracism as a village walking on their knees. These punishments are means of punishment could be used for severe considered to be so severe that they are used sparingly, transgressions against the community: marrying across only for extreme transgressions, particularly those caste, approaching the police for an internal conflict, concerned with sexual misconduct and harassment. etc. Judgements involving ostracism follow certain Transformations in panchayat functioning: The patterns. This ostracism is for a specific period that role of panchayats in passing judgments has reduced. could be extended depending on the behaviour of Many of the villages restrict themselves to fining. In the individual. If any other member or family in the some, the ceiling of the fine amount is fixed, e.g., not village fails to uphold the judgement and includes the more than Rs 100. When practiced, ostracism is usually ostracised member either as crew members or at the only for a short period of time—six months or so in social level, they too will be ostracised. If the individual one instance. The more harsher form of ostracism— seeks to join as a crew member or move into another not sharing water/fire—is rarely practiced. Many village, the panchayat will communicate to that village villagers laughed at a reference to this, saying that if to enforce the ban there. To be reinstated into the such a judgement were to be passed, the person will community, the member may have to follow ritualistic just go to the neighbouring village to get a matchbox. practices like having to visit each member of the Judgements that publicly humiliate the offender were panchayat and ask for their forgiveness with folded considered oppressive and were a causal factor in the hands and offerings of coconut and betel nuts. transformation of traditional governance. These punishments are no longer considered appropriate; The less severe economic ostracism: This includes and their enforcement is quite difficult in these times. barring the fisherman from becoming a member of the crew, and issuing a ban against taking him as a inance crew member, thereby preventing him from being The fishing economy is based on shares. Its distribution able to fish for food and livelihood. The family is not mechanism assumes each individual to be equal and included in this. not bound by hierarchical labour relations The more severe social and economic ostracism: characterized elsewhere. Across the shore, fishermen Known as neeru neruppu (fire/water), this form of action echoed their pride in being autonomous in their means fire-water ostracism. The transgressor and his/ livelihoods—they do not work under any person as her entire family are banned from sharing water or wage labourer. Crew membership is usually equitable, fire with any other household. They cannot participate including both labour on the sea and the maintenance in or invite people to social and religious ceremonies. and use of boats and nets. Crew can be drawn from They cannot marry (give and take brides and grooms) the village and this is largely restricted to people of within other families of the same caste. the same community (Pattinavars).

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The structure of village membership and resource In addition to this, during times of distress, periya sharing is also well-evolved. There are clear, detailed valai and idai valai catches as well as the total daily catch rituals and procedures to divide common resources on designated days can be used to increase the within the village. Given that autonomy is a critical community funds or distributed for cooking in the concern, these tend to be equitable in theory. The village. panchayat plays a critical role in managing village resources. It collects money, maintains accounts and Village expenses distributes common resources for various purposes. Building temples, maintaining their rituals and To ensure community well-being, the panchayat organizing temple festivals is a critical expense. In some distributes the village resources equitably among all villages, the panchayat collects one share of fish from the villagers. In this function, it attempts to ensure every catch for the temple. The village also collects community agreement, using formulae for collection money from each household for organizing the temple and distribution agreed upon collectively in village festival (thiruvizha) annually. In some instances, the meetings. It also maintains transparent accounts of village resources include temple land and trust funds share distribution, open to community scrutiny. that the village is traditionally linked with and has to maintain. Such land is usually seen as community To tide over times of crises, the panchayat also property, as in Nagapattinam. provides a degree of security to all members, Villages can have a yearly kuzhu, where cooked particularly in times of economic crisis. The nature of food is offered to the village deity and shared in the artisanal fishing as a livelihood is risky and individual entire village. At this time, if there is scarcity in the income is erratic. Hence the panchayat has to manage village, rice is distributed to all the families to tide over (create and maintain) common community resources the difficult times. During the lean season the panchayat to buffer individual storms. urther, in dividing shares uses the money derived from such collections to the panchayat includes the vulnerable (the elderly and distribute among the villagers, to enable them to tide widows), who do not have access to a livelihood in over crises. It can also use the village fund for a some form. collective purpose to improve the village. Village income The village money is also used to pay for the The panchayat gets income from different sources. The expenses incurred by the panchayat in the course of first is the auctioning of the village’s catch (kuthu). At their work for the community. Thus all travel and the beginning of every year of the Tamil calendar or boarding expenses for administrative co-ordination on a date fixed earlier, the catch of the entire village is came from this money. auctioned to merchants. The price of different fish is Transparency estimated, and the catch is sold at that rate through inally, transparency is highly valued. Panchayats are the year, irrespective of market fluctuations. This required to maintain detailed records of village system acts as a buffer for individual fisherfolk, while accounts. These accounts are open to public scrutiny, ensuring a community fund. In addition, the village and people can question the panchayat about how the also auctions other resources like the use of the village money was divided. One of the reasons cited for the shops, and the money is collected by the village. ines change in traditional governance was the unwillingness also add to the village fund. of the nattamayi to disclose village accounts Some villages levy a tax8 for being admitted as a satisfactorily. Most panchayats have to show accounts member, or on every catch. One village collects vari at least once a year, after organizing the temple festival. when the village is in difficulty. The last time vari was After the tsunami, more regular meetings have been collected in this manner was after the tsunami. The needed, often as frequent as once a month, and after kuthu given was dissolved since people only went to every consignment of relief/compensation. the sea after the seventh month. Two villages in Villagers from one village narrated how they had Kanchipuram did not have the practice of collecting to break away from their mother village. The panchayat taxes. One of them claims that the practice was there refused to clarify their accounts. Some people discontinued two decades ago. protested and their voices were forcibly suppressed.

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This conflict escalated till four of the people who particularly important in the post-tsunami context questioned the practices of the panchayat were killed. where extensive co-ordination with the bureaucracy Seeking justice from neighbouring village clusters and aid agencies is required. failed, with the judgement awarded in favour of the Modernization has also altered perception of panchayat in the mother village. About 30 families membership to some extent, where it is now not seen left the old village and went to different villages along as a consequence of only personal merit and pride, the coast, but they were asked to leave from these but rather of personal profit and politicisation in some villages. inally they settled eight years ago in their villages. current village. Eligibility Criteria Qualities of Panchayatars Different villages across the coast maintain different The panchayatar is expected to be devoted to criteria of eligibility with regards to age and experience. community well-being, over and above personal Given that marriage traditionally marks considerations. Besides this dedication to the collective membership, in many villages only married people good, other qualities are also listed by the communities. will be nominated to be members of the panchayat. In one village, the panchayat did not nominate widowers Equanimity: This quality was highly valued. Restraint because this was considered inauspicious. Many and propriety in dealing with aggression from the villages prefer to have middle-aged men in the panchayat village is considered essential for settling conflicts as they have seniority within their families. They are between short-tempered men who often drink. Other likely to be more experienced and mature, more related qualities that were enumerated included temperate in their actions and humble in their humility in relating, emotional balance, temperance in behaviour. actions and non-reactivity in charged confrontations— Young members of the panchayat are seen to be all considered critical in maintaining community more short-tempered and precipitate in their actions, cohesiveness. with less respect and more arrogance in their style of Impartiality: It is critical that the panchayatar has the speaking. This, it is feared, will result in increased ability to consider all points of view and act impartially. conflict within the community. However, some villages This is critical to ensure peace since display of personal have the practice of nominating boys as young as 15 years into the panchayat, particularly if their nature/ interests could result in escalation of conflicts. ability is considered ‘good’. In two villages, Good conduct: The villagers spoke of ‘good’ people. panchayatars, who are now in their early 30s, had been The criteria used included being truthful, having a nominated to the panchayat when they were 18 years strong character, coming from a good family in the old. Unmarried men are seen to have lesser village, maturity, etc. responsibility and are therefore able to devote more Hardworking nature: Being a panchayatar requires time to the village. In one village, it is believed that members to work hard for the community. This might single people are more honest; it is therefore preferred require a lot of time spent away from fishing resulting that the cashier of the panchayat be single. in loss of income for the family. or instance, a Many panchayats have a combination of both single panchayatar nominated in one village at age 18 stepped and married men. In some instances, only the skills down once he married since he had to fend for the and mobility of the younger members are used. In family. The necessity for hard work has become one village the panchayat is composed predominantly particularly true after the tsunami, when the work of of married men. The younger members can attend the panchayatars has increased manifold in managing the panchayat meetings but are not allowed to speak. the post-tsunami scenario. In other villages only married men are nominated into the executive (head, secretary and treasurer), even ormal education: This has increasingly become though the panchayat members can be as young as 18– relevant in the last five decades and is needed to 20 years. In one of the villages a panchayatar, who was negotiate with modern actors like the State. It is nominated when he was 18, stepped down after a

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term because it seemed inappropriate for him to hold commitment to public service and the recipient of this position of power, given that his father and his several awards for governance. elder brother were part of the village community. After the tsunami, in one village, half the nominated Section III: Bridging Relationships panchayat is young, in order to ensure coordination The 64-village Chain with the state bureaucracy. However they work under The chain of fishermen’s villages has evolved over the guidance of the earlier panchayat. In contrast, in the centuries, and is the spine of the fisher communities another village younger members have especially not along the coast. According to one fisherman in been nominated into the panchayat after the disaster, Nagapattinam, in olden days the chain comprised of since the tsunami relief and compensation work is 64 kinship villages extending from Chennai to considered too serious to be entrusted to them. Kanyakumari. These villages were bound by continuous communication and exchange up and Women in Governance and Community down the coast, and could respond like a unit. Women in the panchayat Historically, this chain of membership sprang into All the villages along the coast earlier had a rule that action to preserve unity and security in times of crisis, women were not allowed (and not welcome) in the when threatened by external agents or during internal panchayat. One comment was that women do not have conflicts. enough maturity to work on collective matters in the These 64 villages were sub-divided into smaller panchayat. Women could only come to the panchayat clusters of eight village chains, then 16, then 32 and to give witness statements. Even this was to be finally 64. Each of these levels performed governance avoided if it could (especially in those villages with functions similar to the panchayats, dispensed justice, strong traditional practices); and the panchayatars would worked towards social cohesiveness and had financial go to the woman’s house if possible to hear her responsibilities. statement. The typical procedure of seeking justice within the village is that if the decision of the village panchayat Women in the village has to be contested, the person approaches the head Any understanding of gender roles has to be village of the 8-village chain. The head village can also contextualised in the peculiar and stringent gender be called to settle disputes between two different division that exists amongst fisherfolk. ishing in the settlements, including encounters in the sea. This village sea, all over the world, is a male occupation. will then write letters inviting panchayatars from all eight isherwomen do however have a significant visible villages and justice will be dispensed in a common role in processing and marketing fish (absent in more meeting. If this is found unacceptable, the aggrieved conservative agrarian cultures). Women have their own person can approach successively higher clusters, finally market and shop organizations run on the same invoking the 64-village chain. membership principles as the ooru panchayat, though Currently, the 64-village chain extends to only the they might be restricted to just marketing functions villages in the Karaikal and Nagapattinam districts. This rather than community well-being. system also has three other historically designated isherfolk communities do impose strong rules villages in the collective governance structure. One is against women’s entry into public spaces. Traditionally, the chettiar (finance) village in charge of all the accounts. women less than 35 years of age could not enter these The second is a sabha (secretary), which is in charge of spaces at all. In recent times, there has been some calling all the meetings of the entire community that change, partly because of the self-help group the head village presided. Once the head village resolved movement, wherein women can come together to to call a community meeting to sort an issue, they discuss collective matters. The anti-arrack movement would inform the sabha, which in turn will issue all the by women in one village has reduced alcohol invitations. They would also act in cases filed against consumption. In one village, the head of the village the head village. The third was the podhu gramam. It panchayat is a woman (the post is reserved for women), was considered common ground to the entire fisher nominated by the villagers and known for her community. In a dispute, if one of the villages has

224 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings India Special Study issues with the village chosen as the site of the meeting, fund for students who perform well in exams in the the meeting will be called in the podhu gramam. The 10th and 12th standard. The village had also initiated panchayatars of the village will act as witness on behalf a technical training institute but it is not functioning. of the community, in order to ensure that there is no partisanship. Cuddalore Villagers in other districts, particularly Cuddalore, There are no connections with villages in Vizhupuram and Kanchipuram, deny the presence of Nagapattinam, because of increase in population and such a chain or refer to it as a thing of the ancient distance. At the time of nattamayi, Annapampettai past. In all three districts, though, the villages do have served as the head of the 18 villages of the Cuddalore clusters of villages that they approach for higher justice. district. The 18 villages stretch from Singarupettu to In Cuddalore and Vizhupuram, there are references Parangipettai. Devinampattinam has gained increased to a traditional head village, while in Kanchipuram importance in recent times. This was a port in colonial district there is no such designated village. Each village times and has a large number of mechanized boats. It has the prerogative to take critical governance already had a reputation for physical strength, and decisions, like whether they permit fishing craft from economic power has increased this. Many villages do other villages to fish in their waters. While some villages not go to either of these villages for conflict resolution, completely ban it, others allow each fishing craft as the spread of democratic processes has decreased opportunity to fish for one day in their waters in the the power of the longer chain across the district and belief that the boat has drifted into them. This is also its ability to intervene in village relations. the case in determining the composition of the village Problems are usually settled within the community. panchayat. The larger villages (like the head village) Villages may still go to the head village of their own cannot rule in this matter. urthermore, villages are smaller cluster, the periyakuppam (the head of a 7-village free to choose a village in the chain to rule over internal cluster),12 or the killai (this is the mother village of conflicts. In this, it is not necessary to go only to the nine villages in the cluster). The nattar of these mother head village, though the head village may be involved villages ranked higher than the village nattars and he in settling the dispute. was offered higher status, especially while tying the pattam. Nagapattinam Currently, the 64-village chain extends only to the Vizhupuram villages in the Karaikal and Nagapattinam districts. The There are no connections with villages in historical head of the chain is Nambiar Nagar.9 Villages Nagapattinam, Karaikal or Cuddalore. The 19 villages with conflicts with each other come here to solve in Vizhupuram district do not have a traditional differences, e.g., a fight between partners of a fishing head village, though a few villagers referred to craft, burning surku nets10 of neighbouring villages, Devinampattinam as a place to go to resolve issues etc. In addition, Nambiar Nagar is also the designated (this might have been because both Vizhupuram and village to care for the temple that houses neelatchiamman, Cuddalore originally belonged to South Arcot district). one of the critical shakti sites. In addition to these Hanumantrai, with its size and wealth (the villages, there are three other historically designated panchayat earns well from auctioning jellyfish) has been villages in the collective governance structure. The assuming leadership, with a few villages approaching Chettiar (finance) village is Karaikal Medu, the sabha it for resolution. After the tsunami, though, all the 19 (meeting) village is Aryanattuturai and the podhu village villages in the district got together to co-ordinate relief is Kilinjal Medu.11 Because of modernization, and rehabilitation, and Hanumantrai emerged as the Akkrampettai has also emerged as a significant power leader of the process. The other big village mentioned holder and takes leadership decisions among these is Goonimedu. villages. A critical reason is the advent of motorized fishing craft and wealth in the area. The only activity Kanchipuram for the betterment of the fisherfolk undertaken by This district has 46 fishing villages located within a Nambiar Nagar is education. There is a scholarship span of 120 km. Many villagers denied the presence

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of active village chains in the district. There are no Most villages maintained that there has been no designated head villages in the district. Each village law and order situation so severe in the village that takes care of its own concerns, and there is no the police had to be called in. Panchayatars claim that traditional assumption of authority by any one of the this is a reflection of their community unity, which villages, as seen in Nagapattinam. they are rightfully proud of. There are accounts of the presence of such Traditionally, there were strict prohibitions laid structures in the past. One reference was to an 18- down on engagement with the police. Individuals in village chain from Mahabalipuram to Kadapakkam, the village could not file cases against members of of which Pudupattinam was the head. This changed their own community and their own panchayats. Most in 1980, with a conflict between the chettiar and the village conflicts had to be settled within the village, or elected panchayat head from the same village (gram). within the larger chain of villages and justice systems. The chettiar lost his power and, following this, the 18- ailure to comply with this was seen as disrespect to village system also altered. In another account, more the community and could result in ostracism. Many than 60 years ago there used to be a 64-village chain panchayats down the coast still prohibit villagers from from Thirukuzhukondram to Madurangavallam, approaching the police. In one instance, one of the which was headed by Periyakuppam. There were also villagers had been ostracised for filing a compensation references to a chain of 70 villages from Palavukadu case against the panchayat. In a rather extreme case, to Alambaraikuppam. one villager’s shop and house were burnt and he was The neighbouring villages however continue to ostracised from the community for almost two come together to settle disputes between the villages. decades for approaching the police to settle a village The three village panchayats—Periyakuppam, dispute. Chinnakuppam and Aalikuppam—act as a unit when The enforcement of this prohibition depends necessary. A letter is usually given to the villages calling upon the amount of respect and power commanded for a meeting. They sit down and sort out the different by the panchayat. If this respect still exists and the village issues In addition, there were references made to two is united, then people are unlikely to approach the other organizing factors: personal leadership and the police. Those with fragmented panchayats or highly modern organisation for tsunami relief. One villager modernized ones no longer have this kattupadu narrates that till five years ago, there used to be a leader (discipline). In a ten-year-old, apparently rare, case, called Vishwanathan in the 25 villages, renowned for one villager was implicated in a case of misbehaviour his ability to settle conflicts in the district. This was towards a woman. Both the village panchayat and the because of his personal charisma, and with his death 16-village cluster meeting judged that he has to marry the system was not continued. The 46 villages in the her. He fought and went to the High Court. The court mavattam are organised as the Kanchipuram Meenavar ruled in his favour and the panchayat had to revert its Ozhinguannaipu Kuzhu, formed by the heads of the decision. With time passing, both the man and woman village panchayats. It was formed to manage relief and are now married to different people; and the reversal compensation distribution, though it also claims to of the panchayat’s decision by the High Court was not mediate relationships between the villages. People in considered harmful. other villages are aware of this committee’s existence, urther, more and more villages (particularly though they do not consider it very important. along the Kanchipuram coast) acknowledge that cases Relationship with the Police involving injuries and death are beyond their current There is a standing rule in the fishermen’s community governance functions. They immediately report them that police are outsiders and cannot be allowed into to the police, and the investigations handed over to the community for any purpose without the them. They admit to a fear of the police and prefer permission of the nattar/panchayat. All village issues to minimise their engagement with them. and conflicts are to be worked within the village. When In return for restraint in involving modern law needed, the traditional panchayat mediates relations of agencies, the panchayat sheltered its members from them members with other legal agencies, including the courts when needed. Traditionally, when police entered the and the police. community to arrest a member, they first approached

226 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings India Special Study the panchayatar’s house. They explained the case to him political propaganda material in the village. One reason and left. The nattar/panchayatar then accompanied these for this is the threat to village unity. In one village, members to the station, where they attempted to sort allowing posters and flags in 1986 resulted in serious the issue out. This was a critical governance function. conflicts that required outside intervention. Since then or instance, a village severely torn by conflict in political flags or posters are not allowed within the Nagappattinam broke into two factions when the village, and can be displayed only on the other side of nattar was seen to fail in this function. It is claimed the East Coast Road. In another village, allowing the that he tacitly supported the filing of 18 false cases painting of walls for electoral propaganda resulted in against members of the labour union for burning nets factions in the village, and now party flags are allowed and committing murder in the village. only on the days that the politician is in the village and This too has undergone a change in some villages. then removed the same day. Villagers note a lowering in the police’s respect and Some villages (particularly those in Kanchipuram behaviour towards them. The restriction on entering close to Chennai) permit electoral propaganda. Bigger the village without the panchayat’s knowledge and villages with a greater influx of mechanization allow consent has been weakened. In one village, the elders the display of posters (but prohibit hoisting of flags) are only informed of the arrest while it is happening, in the village. A few allow both and maintain that and if needed usually accompany the villager member there have been no factions as a consequence. to the station. Another village claimed that the police is involved in many village matters and can easily enter the village to apprehend people within. Section IV: Historical Transformation of Governance Structure Electoral Politics The fisherfolk have an axiom: ‘Bring politics to the The hereditary nattamayi (the nattar system) has been people and not the people to politics.’ Like engagement in existence for several centuries, and the post of village with the police, engagements with political parties and headman passes down from father to son as a actors are also restricted. Past experience shows that hereditary post. Some village panchayats still follow the political leadership sets itself up against the traditional nattamayi structure. About 20 years ago, most villages panchayat system and threatens the unity of fishermen. in the fisherfolk village chain transformed this Strong electoral affiliations created and aggravated traditional structure of governance into more rifts in the community, and the ensuing conflicts in the democratic systems that aimed to be inclusive and village became difficult to control. transparent. The central pivot was the right to express Personal electoral affiliations, however strong, are one’s views in the public space and to participate in only to be restricted to the voting process and not collective decisions. Two kinds of general principles allowed to play a role in the community structure. were agreed upon. One was to shift the power to With only one exception, the village panchayats govern the community vested in the head (nattar) to describes the panchayat selection process as being the panchayat. The selection of the panchayat was independent of electoral party affiliations. This village conducted in an open village meeting where every is divided into three sections aligned along party member of the village reserved a right to be heard. loyalties. Each faction nominates 3–4 members to the While the broad principles of the democratization panchayat. At the other end of the spectrum, a village process were laid out, each village adapted these in Cuddalore reports that the village as a whole principles with variations based on their own internal nominates members both for electoral roles in the power configurations. larger system as well as the panchayat. Party affiliations can be exhibited only outside The Nattamayi Structure the village. A commonly practiced rule along the coast The hereditary nattamayi (the nattar system) has been is to permit no political campaigning and propaganda in existence for at least the last 300–400 years. In its in the village. Most villages do not allow party posters original form, the nattar used to be the chieftain of and flags. or instance, one entire village fervently the village and had the powers of a king. In recent supports the same party, but will still not display times, he acts as the leader of the village. In the

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northern districts of Kanchipuram, the nattar is called Women cannot appear before him. He has to rank chettiar.13 first in any community gathering. His word is law and On the coast, a few villages still have the nattar failure to comply could result in punishment. Silence system. This leadership structure is based on patriarchal has to be maintained if he sits in judgement. and patrilocal kinship. The nattar is often the head of The nattamayi came under severe criticism because the most respected/oldest/most powerful family in of increasing modernization and awareness. This the community, and the position is passed on from hereditary structure was increasingly perceived as father to son. The selection of the nattar was usually a authoritarian and oppressive by modern eyes private family affair. Pangali (kin group) families decided (particularly from democratic perspectives). Several amongst themselves, behind closed doors, who will accusations were levied against the structure. In be most appropriate as the nattar. Those who were Cuddalore, some said that decisions and judgements not within this kin structure were excluded from the were made unilaterally as per personal convenience, process and therefore did not have any say in the rather than by inclusive and fair methods, increasing decision. rifts in the village. Human rights were violated, wherein amilies who had settled first in the village are people were beaten up and even imprisoned, as part often respected for their experience, and usually have of enforcing justice. Marking respect and meting out representation in the panchayat. In some villages there humiliation were cornerstones of this system, is more than one nattar, with each of these nattars continuously emphasising status differences (for coming from different kin groupings, and working instance, villagers stand with folded hands before the together on community issues. This depends on how nattar). Community finance records were not the settlement evolved, with families growing transparent. inally, the nattamayi did not pay attention progressively larger through kin migration. Each village to civic service (electricity, water) and would not relate may have a number of such family clusters, organized with the state administration to obtain these amenities. along streets. Many villages have periya nattars and chinna Modernization has accelerated this nattars. Some villages could have as many as three or transformation. Mechanization, democratisation and four nattars. Each governs his own cluster; and these privatisation all altered the traditional relations based nattars form the core of the panchayat. In one village, on kinship and community belonging. In the last the northern section has a nattar while the southern century, modern technology in fishing increased section has a chettiar. individual autonomy. Community and kin relations urthermore, additional members of respectable were replaced by modern relationships (elections, state standing are included in the structure of the panchayat programmes). More and more of the fishermen are to assist the nattars to fulfil their responsibilities. These educated, some have travelled abroad; and their members are nominated by the nattar; they could financial situation has generally improved. With this, counsel him but not take decisions. In one village, the individualisation and personal profit seeking has also chettiar selects the new panchayat in consultation with increased. the elders. In addition, the village governance structure could have karyadarsis and dharmakartas (temple Changing the Nattamayi custodians), who support the nattar in his work and The structure of governance has undergone change preside in his position in his absence. The dharmakartas along the coast, from the hereditary nattamayi to attend particularly to the administration of the temple, ‘democratic’ panchayats. This change sought to its rituals and property. These positions too are democratize the governance of the community. A new inherited. In another village, the chettiar is assisted by structure of leadership and governance was evolved, five panchayatars in addition to a karyadarsi. with inclusive and transparent decision-making in the A critical concern of the nattamayi is respect. Thus community rather than within the family. The critical the members of the village have to pay respect to the emphasis was on participation—include people within nattar and panchayat in different ways: by not carrying discussions and decision-making, in spite of umbrellas, wearing chappals or sitting in his presence. differences of opinion.

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Traditionally, the nattar did have a panchayat panchayat’s selection, composition and practice have selected by him to support his work, which could also been evolved in the past two decades. It has a only counsel and not decide. Certain processes marked certain number of people (usually 8–10) selected as the transformation from a hereditary nattamayi to a panchayat members by the village. All the male selected panchayat. Some of the nattar’s traditional members of the village have a right to express functions (for instance rituals symbolic of decisions themselves in the selection process as well as in any and roles) were privatised within the immediate family, subsequent action that the panchayat undertakes. reducing his importance. The balance of power was Each village however adapted these standards to shifted from the head to the body of the panchayat its own context, and the selection and composition structure, i.e., from the nattar to the members. of the panchayat therefore varies from village to village. unctions and roles performed by the nattar were In some villages the outgoing panchayat nominates a now performed by the panchayat. All the villagers, rather new panchayat. Some villages also formed committees than just the kinship grouping, were included in the of people, usually considered elders in the village, who village decisionmaking process, particularly in the went out of the meeting to make lists of possible selection of the panchayat. panchayatars. These lists are read and collectively reviewed in the larger meeting. Here if any of the The Changing Chain members are found to be inappropriate, they are The nattamayi was removed as early as half a decade rejected and the committee reconvened to select ago in a few villages, particularly those that are close alternate members. This method of selection was to to Chennai. The process of significant and consistent avoid chaos in the larger meeting. In one village, there transition across the region though was first seen two is a standard rule that the ten members of the panchayat decades ago. This transformation was triggered in are to be selected on the same day. At the completion neighbouring villages across the coast. An immediate of their term, a new panchayat with new members is cause for the transformation was the collective selected. The village could have prohibitions on meetings organized by different organisations to selecting the same member or even members from educate/sensitize people about the oppressive nature the same family in subsequent terms, and may specify of hereditary leadership. a period for which they are not to be re-selected. A village in Kanchipuram refers to the Association The panchayat meets as and when required to of the Rural Poor in Kanchipuram, led elix handle its various tasks. Before the tsunami, this used Sughidranraj, that undertook sensitization of young to be quite irregular. The members may be required people about this. In Vizhupuram, the village chains to be guided by the elders in the village who selected were activated by a similar effort undertaken in Devanampattinam by Raghupathy, as a result of which them; or refer to the village in the execution of their the one-year selection system was discussed and duties. adopted in the entire district. Again, in 1983, the A critical outcome of the change to the selected nattamayi in the 18 villages in Cuddalore was also panchayat is the accountability of its panchayat members changed, starting from Singarathopu and then to the people. In one of the most united villages spreading to Periyakuppam. There was a fight studied, the panchyatars comment that their work is between the nattamayi and the young men in the village, so consistently good because their actions are closely necessitating police intervention. The 18 villages of scrutinised for errors. Their position does not spare Cuddalore together decided to form a committee them from being extensively questioned. A second that will select panchayat members. The villages started critical emphasis is on financial transparency. The changing one by one. Now for 16 years there is no panchayat has to present accounts as and when nattar. Instead there is a panchayat headed by the thalaivar required, as well as at regular intervals ranging from a (headman). year (before the tsunami) to once a month. At the completion of their term they are expected to show The Democratic Panchayat the entire accounts of income and expenses incurred In more than half the villages, the governance is by during their term. These are scrutinized in a village the selected panchayat. The broad standards for the meeting.

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Comparisons with the Nattamayi villages with rich resources or large incomes, the The panchayat has not always met with approbation in transformation from the nattamayi to the panchayat has comparison with the earlier structure. One villager been marked by severe conflict resulting in the narrates that earlier, in times of conflict, the person development of fractures.14 Mechanized fishing,15 would quietly be called by the chettiar and the problem urbanisation16 and democratisation17 have also sorted out mostly through discussions. Meetings would aggravated these conflicts. be called only if this failed. In these meetings, the chettiar’s resolutions used to be carefully listened to. Mechanization of Technology People were expected to not retaliate or even speak Mechanization (like other modernization processes), much; and collective discipline was valued. In the new when confronted with traditional practices, has governance structure, meetings are called easily, triggered serious conflict in the fishing community. It everybody has an opinion and none listens to each involves radical changes in the fishing technology used, other. The second criticism centres around the loss of and hence in the occupational relations. The coast has personal dignity and increase in arrogance—people also seen an influx of trawlers in the last few decades, (particularly women and old people) were accorded particularly in Nagapattinam, Karaikal and Cuddalore more respect and consideration in the previous with rich fishing grounds and harbours. These boats structure. People in the village used to respect social usually stay out on the sea longer, sometimes for a boundaries and one another, but that is now eroding. week, and use large nets that draw in schools of fish from deeper seas. They have some preservation Integration facilities to store their catch. They require heavy In many villages the transformation from the nattamayi investment for fuel and stocks (ice and food). Artisanal structure to the democratic village panchayat is through and mechanized fishing interests have been pitted integration or co-existence. In one village, the elected against each other, particularly in heavily mechanized panchayatars continue to support the nattar, who still areas. Mechanization, with its capacity to sweep fish performs many governance functions like maintaining clean from the sea, has reduced the sea catch. urther village records. Others include the nattar or members they concentrate greater wealth, increasing economic of his family in the panchayat. or instance, the sons of power within the community, which can challenge nattars have been included in the panchayat. The panchayat traditional or community authority. The emergence is composed of one member from each of the seven of Akkrampettai in Nagapattinam or family clusters in the village; the nattar acts as a Devanamipattinam in Cuddalore as leaders in village respected member to be consulted in community chains is one such challenge. work. Two villages, while having no nattars, are Within villages, this conflict of interests influences governed by thalaivars (heads). While these positions governance. In highly mechanized villages,18 the were not necessarily hereditary, they were lifelong. panchayats often represent trawlers rather than artisanal Since the democratisation process has rendered the interests. This has led to the formation of labour historical influence of the nattamayi illegitimate, there associations, factions in the village that represent is often shame in admitting its influence, and the artisanal fishing interests, particularly after the tsunami. institution is not easily available to public scrutiny. However the term ‘labour’ can be misconstrued. A consistent feature retained right across the region with few exceptions is the procedure of Trawlers also retain a share system, as in artisanal selection of the panchayat in an open village forum. fishing. In the case of large mechanized fishing craft, Election by secret ballot votes was considered an where investments costs may be high, the crew inferior process in selecting the panchayat, since it member may not need to share the risks but will take undermined the relationship that existed between back a smaller portion of the catch (80:20 rather than members. 60:40). urther, the same individual can go as a member of a kattumaram on one trip and of a trawler Conflict on the next—villagers retain the autonomy to go as Not all villages have integrated the change process in crewmembers in artisanal fishing craft as well as in a peaceful manner. In some instances, particularly in mechanized fishing craft.

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Only in one village in Chennai is the structure of also buried with their owners. Bodies continued to be the village panchayat not evident. In addition, two of found in advanced states of decomposition for more the villages in Vizhupuram district narrate a history of than a month after the disaster. exploitation from the ashram trust that they are Immediate Relief traditionally associated with.19 People fled westwards, away from the sea, to (relatives’ houses in nearby villages, nearby camps, Section V: Tsunami schools and marriage halls). They returned to the The Death Toll villages during the day, while staying away at night. The districts that had the highest death toll were Many of the men had to attend to the dead Nagapattinam and Karaikal. The first of the three immediately. waves that hit the coast in these districts was or the first one or two days, there was no food devastatingly large, and extremely swift and turbulent. and no water (especially in some of the most affected The villages northwards from Karaikal (particularly villages). By the second day, most villages had received in Kanchipuram) record lower rates of death, except food from neighbouring villages, relief donors and in a few instances. Here, it was only the last of the community kitchens. At this stage most communities three waves (experienced as surges of the sea rather had to adapt to becoming recipients, a change that than as a wall of water) that was significantly large. was difficult to make at this juncture. The leaders of People who responded to the warning about the first the villages had also dispersed during the first few two waves escaped. One other reason for the low days of the tsunami. death toll, it is narrated, was the priority given to lives rather than to property. Role of Supporting Villages The death toll was also determined by other There is a difference between various reports of the factors. More children, old people and women died, role of neighbouring villages in different districts. because they could not swim or did not have the Close to Nagapattinam city, villagers report there was physical strength to survive the wave. Medus (dunes) no support forthcoming from neighbouring villages. and walls also determined the flow of water and the A village in Karaikal reported that their neighbours subsequent devastation, cutting off escape in some resented the amount of aid coming in. In marked instances while directing water away from settlements contrast to this, villages in the other three northern in others. Many villagers had not gone fishing, reducing districts recount instances of great kindness, e.g., a case death tolls. Some fishermen at sea also remained wherein a neighbouring jamaat of Muslims helped unharmed. In one village, there was a weekly market, bury bodies, moved the injured to hospitals, opened with women buying and selling fish, and men folding their halls to offer shelter and cooked food for all the nets after fishing on the shore. Many people from people. within and outside the village drowned. In another case, school-going children trained in disaster Distribution of Immediate Relief preparedness escaped at the first instance of danger In the relief distribution period, the mechanisms of and were safe, even before the adults of the village. community sharing already evolved formed the Disposal of the Dead foundation of the panchayat and village functioning Most villagers returned back to the village to search and distribution. In all villages, there were no serious for their families and to bury their dead on the day of conflicts during this period. In two instances (one of the tsunami itself. Given the degree of loss, the primary these is a village with blood feuds), existing conflicts concern remained the dignified internment of the dead were laid aside after the tsunami during immediate rather than loss of property. or instance in a village relief distribution. It is only later that some of the in Nagapattinam, the elder in the village narrates that conflicts resumed or worsened. he organised a team of 30 young men, who The immediate relief articles distributed included systematically searched for and recovered the bodies. clothes, raw food, cooking materials and utensils, and The bodies were buried promptly to prevent their household articles like beddings and buckets. In some decomposition. All the ornaments on the bodies were instances, money was given as relief. Different agencies

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distributed relief—state organizations, religious and compensation. Now, the villagers feel that they have political charity efforts, and development been foolish. organizations. All the villages remark that the much needed and Aid well-intentioned relief was generous and timely, but Communities along the coast geared themselves to that they were wary about the consequences on the negotiate the aid process, both of the state and of unity of the villages. This phase also marked voluntary organisations. A critical shift in community transformations in panchayat and village orientation in values was to collect as much as aid as was possible order to negotiate with aid and State agencies. to avoid being ‘foolish’. In many instances, panchayats had to reorient themselves or be replaced if they failed Distribution Process in this. They had to play two critical roles in the aid A common set of procedures was used along the process: enumerate members of the community to coast. The village panchayats had assessed the damage allot and enlist shares, and collect and distribute aid in a few days. Hence they were vested with the power received in keeping with internal processes of sharing. of dispensing relief equitably. Some features stand out. irst, the relief material was deposited in a Enumeration community structure that acted as a repository, usually Damage enumeration conducted by the state the temple, panchayat office or school. If the machinery and various voluntary agencies tested village organization could dispense enough relief to all the cohesiveness. The enumeration involved detailed members, distribution followed. Otherwise they were listings of the loss of life and the degree of damage asked to deposit the materials till more were collected, to shelter, fishing craft , fishing gear and accessories in order that they could be distributed to all members (hooks, bait) and livelihood materials. Some villages of the community. If they refused to do so, the report that enumeration of members, particularly by materials were not accepted. Second, all members were the state machinery, was affected by several factors. informed about the arrival of aid (a microphone was used in one village to make announcements) so that Shock: At the time of enumeration, the suddenness they could witness the distribution process. The of the disaster had left many people in shock. People distribution (particularly in Nagapattinam and had dispersed and critical people in the community Karaikal) was on the basis of a token system. In some were missing. The state beneficiary lists prepared were instances, the panchayat nominated a committee (say, not adequately representative; and often differed from of young men) to oversee distribution. Third, the those enumerated by the ooru panchayat. In one village, accounts of the distribution were maintained in the the enumeration list of the tehsildar listed about 140 village in the accounts book open to public scrutiny. houses instead of the 163 houses in the village. At that time the panchayat could not give the entire list, because Issues in Relief many people had fled the village immediately after In commenting on the sale of relief articles, one the tsunami. fisherman said that the relief material was often in Membership: Issues arose in counting households. excess, inappropriate or poor in quality. In one village, Unmarried sons could be considered part of a the old clothes were sold and the money received household or enumerated separately. One village also was shared amongst the members of the village. The narrates that some of the members who were not relief phase marked a critical transformation in the listed questioned this, and the money was divided values of the community. Shrewdness in acquiring aid, equally. Two other villages also enumerated lesser irrespective of its appropriateness, took predominance numbers of people: 41 families divided amongst 62 over generosity. Two villages redirected the relief that members and 72 divided amongst 110 members. This came to the village to one that had suffered dilemma was particularly sharp in villages that considerable damage and loss of life. However this followed the tradition of identifying members by act of generosity became a source of regret later, when marriage in some of their internal functions. In the village did not receive any further relief or Kanchipuram, for instance, where village membership

232 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings India Special Study commences at the age of 18 and the new member Redistribution of Compensation and Aid has to begin to pay a tax to the panchayat, these issues In addition to enumeration, the second critical function did not arise. of the panchayat was organization and distribution of Large villages with rich resources did not count compensation in the village. Many villages reported recent migrants as members. In one village, only 281 that the initial phase of aid arrival in the village was families out of 420 have been enumerated for post- marked by chaos. When some members of the tsunami relief (The central government distributed Rs community received aid, others who did not get it 8000 over a span of five instalments—Rs 4000 immediately came to know of this and protested. followed by Rs 1000 four times—as disaster relief to These conflicts had to be resolved at the panchayat each of the families affected by the disaster.) The level. remaining families were not enumerated by the To avoid these conflicts, the villagers in many panchayat, which did not consider them vari (tax-paying communities collectively agreed to divide the aid members of the village). Because of the rich river- received from both the state and the voluntary and sea-fishing, a number of families have shifted into organizations equitably. Many villages worked out the the village over the past few years. Their application methods of organizing the aid received and for membership has been rejected, on the basis that redistributing it among the members. In one village, there are no guarantees that they will continue to stay for instance, the panchayatars sat together and decided in the village in future. how to divide the compensation. These calculations were then presented to the larger community and the Role of the government: In many instances, the final amounts negotiated and agreed upon. Those that government enumeration process aggravated conflicts were unwilling to accede to this decision were to be within the village. State personnel in Nagapattinam placed under mariyal. Similar patterns were followed were immediately transferred and new enumerators in distribution of fishing craft compensations from unfamiliar with the communities were brought in. the State. Unequal access to State machinery undermined The structures and mechanisms already structures of authority and resource sharing within traditionally present for resource sharing provided the the village. Panchayats were often not consulted in the foundation. The panchayatars usually collected and state enumeration, leading to discrepancies in estimates redistributed the relief and boat compensation due by the two institutions. State records (e.g., fisheries for the entire village from the State, as well as the aid department records of boats) in the villages tend to provided by voluntary organisations. Since be erratic. In one village, it was ruefully reported that transparency was a critical concern of these the number of fishing craft after the tsunami is communities, in most villages people knew about the considerably less than the number before the tsunami. quantity and kind of aid received by the village. Many The numbers used were from the records of the villages also instituted new processes to increase this fisheries department. Recording a fishing craft in the transparency, e.g., monthly meetings on community fisheries department requires the person to pay a accounts. registration fee, and fishermen do not want to incur Most of the panchayats collected the aid received, this expenditure. and redistributed it internally across the community to ensure equity. This study explored four kinds of Questions about enumeration: Villages charged that aid: the relief given to individual villagers; the boat the numbers finalised by the government were compensation (including trawlers) given by the state; questionable on several counts. There was nets and other equipment given by voluntary inappropriate distribution of compensation in organisations; and housing. The calculation of unaffected areas (villages lying to the west). There was compensation due to each person was determined also a sizeable inflation in beneficiary numbers in State by several factors. records.20 They also report that attempts to seek justice from police had not been successful. Questioning these Quantum of Aid inflated figures met with threats to personal safety and The quantum of relief distributed also involved redirection of further aid away from these villages.21 redistribution and conflict. Villages in Kanchipuram

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and Karaikal reported fewer difficulties in distribution, In three villages, villages collectively decided to while those in Nagapattinam and Vizhupuram faced compensate people on the basis of damage to nets greater difficulties. One reason that villagers in Karaikal and wood, and divide the rest amongst the members say that redistribution was easier in these villages was in the village. In another village, nets given by non- the ample amount of aid received from the union governmental organizations were distributed amongst government, and the fact that the villages and their those who lost theirs. Out of the last cheque of panchayats were remarkable stable during the compensation given to the 249 kattumarams, the dissemination process. panchayat gave money to repair the damaged boats and then distributed the rest equitably. Thus people Community Estimates who fish have been given Rs 13000, those who are Communities arrived at their own lists of beneficiaries not fisherfolk but maintain petty businesses in the area based on assessment of damage, membership in the have been given Rs 7000, couples have been given Rs community and the amount of compensation 10000, widows Rs 2000, widowers Rs 5000, and distributed. The panchayat reconciled these lists with unmarried men Rs 8000. In yet another village, the the beneficiary lists made by the government and aid organisations In a few villages, special committees were panchayat divided the nets equally amongst the people. appointed to undertaken the assessment and urther they also recovered a certain amount from reconciliation. In many instances, these differences were the people who got compensation, and divided up equalised to ensure that those who were not covered the money amongst old people (Rs 5000 for men, Rs by state and aid organisations also received a share. 2000 for women), widows (Rs 2000) and unmarried youth (Rs 5000). Membership In four villages, part of the compensation given Most villages redistributed the compensation on the for kattumarams was collected and then distributed basis of member shares. or this, they used the modern amongst those who had not received anything. In one criteria of 18 years of age and payment of vari for of these villages, the panchayat redistributed the money membership, rather the traditional one of marriage. collected in the following manner: those who work The redistribution of the compensation required in the sea (Rs 15000); those who work on the shore reconciliation of these two estimates, particularly in (Rs 10000), daughters without father (Rs 7500), villages with more traditional communities. husband and wife, and educated boys (Rs 5000), those who have daughters and no sons, and widows Shares (Rs 2500). The share of aid received from alternate sources and Some villages only collected money for fishing already given to individual members also determined craft that were not damaged and then redistributed the redistribution process. The redistribution process this money. In one village, only those people who also accounted for structural differences. received compensation and did not own the In one village, compensation for 50 RP craft kattumarams were asked to contribute to the village. was received. These beneficiaries have been asked to The owners got Rs 8000 and the village collected the give a portion of their compensation to the village remaining Rs 14000. There has been some conflict fund to be redistributed. Their damaged fishing craft related to this within the village. have already been repaired by a voluntary organisation. In one village in Chennai with many labourers, In addition, they have also received shares (one boat the compensation received was given to the owners shared by three members) in the 96 RPs (ibre directly, who in turn gave Rs 1000 to each of the Reinforced Plastic craft) distributed in the village by labourers who work as their crew. another non-governmental organization. Their refusal to share their state compensation with the village was Mechanized ishing Craft contested. At the time of the study, a larger cluster Greater equity was seen in sharing the aid by the meeting involving the neighbouring 6–7 villages had artisanal fishing sector, particularly when compared been called to resolve the issue. to the mechanized fishing craft. This was a direct

234 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings India Special Study reflection of the panchayat’s will and ability to collect than half of what is given to a crew member . Many money from all sections of people, irrespective of of these women dry and sell excess catch in the village. their economic power. In villages with large They do not have fishing craft. concentrations of mechanized fishing craft, panchayats Most villages along the coast had no special could often not enforce redistribution of their schemes for widows in the village. The panchayat compensation. Mechanized fishing craft owners perceived its main role to be one of channelising maintain that the costs of maintaining and running resources and not that of reaching out to particularly the craft are so prohibitive, that it cannot be expected vulnerably people. The panchayat only routed aid that of them to share the damage compensation given by was specifically given to widows. the government. In one village, the money collected Even though there were no special provisions was returned back to the people after a decision in a for widows, many villages in all districts (with the village meeting because fights broke over this issue. notable exception of Kanchipuram) enumerated In three villages in Nagapattinam, conflicts have widows as shareholders in the aid received after the broken out because of the unwillingness of tsunami. Many villages also allocated a share in the mechanized fishing craft owners to share their RP fishing craft distributed. In one instance at least, compensation with the members of their crews and these women could sell their share at the price (Rs with those who ply kattumarams between the trawlers 10000) fixed per share by the panchayat. and the shore. Only three villages on the coast reported In Kanchipuram, however, widows without male that the compensation received for mechanized fishing heirs were not considered members in aid distribution craft in their villages was also divided between the and received half a share or no share at all in villagers.22 compensation received for boats. There was one single RP ishing Craft given by exception among the villages studied in this district, where the two widows in the village were given the Non-governmental Organizations same shares as the other members. In one village, one All along the coast, RP fishing craft have been woman narrates that her share of aid is only half that distributed by non-governmental organizations. Many of other members. A share in the RP fishing craft villages distributed the RP fishing craft to all the distributed was also denied to her. She had tried to members of the village, with each craft being allocated become a member and offered to pay vari (Rs 80 to a certain number of people. Some villages per month) even before the tsunami. This too has distributed the RP fishing craft to those who did been refused. She has six daughters, all of whom are not get compensation for any craft. In one village, married. They did not get any shares from the names of the crew members in the villages were compensation received for the craft. A critical picked by lottery to avoid conflicts. In addition some reasoning to justify is that they are not earning members of the villages also have fixed the price of each for the village. membership. Thus people could sell these membership shares in the RP if needed. The women who sell dried fish were also not counted in the compensation. In one village, a cluster Compensation for Women of old women who sell dry fish on the shore report In some instances, using traditional sharing patterns that they received no special schemes or compensation. may also have emphasized existing inequities. Women On the day of the tsunami, they were on the coast (particularly widows with no male heirs) were not and watched the wave come in and fled for their lives. eligible for shares, or received smaller portions in many All of them lost their entire stock of dried fish in the villages, particularly in Kanchipuram district. Along tsunami and now have no source of income. This the coast, widows without sons or male heirs are usually loss was not compensated. One of the women excluded from patriarchal and patrilocal village despairingly claimed that it would have been better to membership. Because they cannot contribute to the have died in the tsunami, since this would have meant livelihood activities in the village, they receive usually that her family received compensation at least for her smaller shares in the village catch, about half or less death.

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Enforcement of Redistribution of continuous movement and sailing on the coastline ailure to comply with the redistribution decided by between the villages. This chain of information and the panchayat can result in mariyal. One of the villagers action is slowly disintegrating under the pressures of (G) has filed a court case against his panchayat for modernization (mechanization, urbanisation, collecting part of the compensation for his fishing industrialisation). The exact nature of post-tsunami craft from him. He had been excommunicated both housing aid in altering this chain could not be covered economically and socially because he was not willing in the study. If pursued, this enquiry might offer to pay the village his share. His approach to the district important insights into the future changes in administration to act in removing the mariyal has been community structure that can be expected. unsuccessful. Apparently G had already been Many villages are wary about the state relocation compensated for his fishing craft by the village from plan because they believe that to be physically alienated aid received earlier. Therefore the village felt justified from the shore will make fishing extremely difficult in asking him to pay his share from the cheques he and even impossible. urther, they are afraid that the received for another fishing craft. land thus acquired will be used for purposes that will degrade the environment (like shrimp farming) or will Housing create an influx of outsiders (like for the entertainment The critical long-term concern of the fisherfolk villages and hospitality industries). is that of relocation and housing. The government has promised relocation in alternative locations where Relocation possible. In return, the villages will have to surrender Some villages are willing to relocate, even if it involves the old land to the government. The fishing craft and the risk of losing the land that their old houses stand gear will be stored in a shed specially constructed for on. In one village, 70 houses have been razed. The this purpose. The community is caught between government is paying Rs 30000 per acre to buy land contradictory pressures of livelihood and the safety for the new houses. The extra money needed for the of the family. After the tsunami, fisherfolk report that purchase of land will come from the village money. they are afraid of living on the shore. While the men Another village, for instance, has been allocated land are reasonably confident about surviving such disasters for 127 families 500 metres from the coast, next to because they are used to the ways of the sea and can the vanniars. They agreed to shift for safety reasons swim or ride the waves, women and children are not and were willing to house their craft and gear in sheds. so skilled. Given that women and children are the Some villages were willing to relocate because ones to spend most of their time on the shore, their they did not own the land that they were settled on. safety has now become the critical factor in deciding Relocation would entitle them to ownership of the reconstruction of their homes. house and land. Two large communities were willing The seashore is an integral part of their livelihood. to relocate to new areas, while remaining confident Their fishing practices require their boats to be pushed that they will retain the area where the damaged houses into the sea. Nets are repaired, catches auctioned and close to the sea are located. fish dried on the shore. ishing craft, fishing gear and other fishing equipments are also stored here. By living Refusal to Shift close to the sea, the fishermen also protect this Many villages insisted on remaining at their earlier property. In return, they continuously monitor the location. This was particularly true of villages in seashore and its changing ecology. Thus fishermen, Kanchipuram and Chennai. In a village with factions, particularly artisanal fishermen, are acutely aware of one faction did not want to return to the village but the dilemma between safety and their livelihood. wished to relocate to the area where their temporary The seashore is a critical factor in building the shelters have been constructed. This is being contested. structure of the fisherfolk community down the coast. One reason that fisherfolk communities down the Shifting Close By shore have been largely resilient is the constant Some villages have bought or used land that was already information sharing that historically occurs because available to build new houses. Thus they have relocated

236 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings India Special Study to a nearby area while retaining control over the old new kind of work were also selected by the areas. In some villages, people have chosen to buy community. land nearby with village money and carry on with the reconstruction work. Thus they have had access to Accountability new land while retaining control over the old seashore. The relief and rehabilitation compensation was also or instance, in one village, 230 houses have been seen as collective resources, and its collection and relocated. These households already had land deeds equitable distribution was also seen as a central (pattas) far from the sea and close to the river under a governance function. The transparency of the previous government free housing programme. distribution process within the village, the shrewdness Hence, the old land is still under the individual’s name in negotiating with external agencies, and their ability to account for expenses became significant. and does not have to be handed over to the Accounts had to submitted for public scrutiny government. when demanded. These accounts have to give details Section VI: The Communities of all the money and relief that was collected, and the pattern of its division. Almost all villages had a rule Post-tsunami that accounts have to be shown at least once a month. The Post-tsunami Panchayats One of the villages that prides itself on the transparency It is only in 14 villages that the panchayats have not of its accounting procedure says that the panchayat changed because of the disaster and still remain the meets on every new moon day in the month and the same (or have changed only as part of regular practice). accounts are shared amongst the villagers. Other Of these, five villages still have the nattamayi. All the villages insist on the submission of accounts for public other panchayats have been changed after the tsunami. scrutiny regularly, at intervals of two months, four Three significant factors played a role in this months or yearly. transformation: competence, accountability of the panchayat and the presence of historical conflict that Issues in inance was aggravated by the tsunami and the subsequent The panchayats in some villages were altered because aid dispensation process. of issues with accounts. In one village, one of the members of the panchayat was asked to step down Competence because he stole Rs 20000. He in turn filed a case of The post-tsunami period requires harder work and corruption against the panchayat, to which it has ‘modern’ competencies to negotiate with the various retaliated by filing a case of defamation against him. aid dispensing agencies, and to draw, manage and The panchayat itself changed after its appointed term, redistribute aid. Some panchayat members resigned after organising the temple festival and showing the their positions, quoting personal reasons or illness as annual accounts. In another village, though the panchayat a cause for their inability to carry out the extra work changed, the panchayatars were extremely reluctant to that the post-tsunami scenario demanded. Many disclose why. It was hinted that this might have been communities changed their panchayat members in order because of the manner in which relief was distributed. to draw aid in larger amounts and distribute it better. The panchayat printed coupons on the basis of which In some instance, villages removed panchayat members relief was distributed. 26 coupons were left out, for inappropriate behaviour: drinking, lack of following which the entire panchayat was changed. seriousness and unwillingness to attend to extra work. This phenomenon of changing panchayats was In two villages with nattamayi, the nattar/chettiar most marked in two villages. In one of these villages, remained the same, while the rest of the members the panchayat was changed twice in the course of a were changed because their behaviour was year since the tsunami (the current one is the third inappropriate. In two villages, some of the old panchayat). The first two were changed because they panchayatars continued while others were changed. were not transparent and did not show accounts. Here, people claim that the panchayatars were drunk A critical factor in financial accountability is and unable to pay attention to all the work of the whether the expenses incurred by the panchayat are villages. Members with competencies to handle the reasonable. It is entitled to deduct expenses incurred

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by them in carrying out its role (lodging and boarding, associations have been formed. or instance, in two transportation, entertainment costs). In many villages, villages, panchayats were unwilling to represent artisanal the tsunami compensation work is perceived with a interests in their estimates of fishing craft. This was degree of suspicion. In another village in Chennai, the seen by the artisanal fishers as an opportunity to get villagers report that the panchayat was changed three new fishing craft and become autonomous. Owners months ago for not showing accounts. The of mechanized fishing craft however did not want panchayatars used to go to the neighbouring arrack to permit this independence, and their influence in the shop, with each spending a good sum of money on governance of the village is considerable. They also drinking. Those who did not drink were given their denied shares given for the mechanized fishing craft share of money to spend on whatever they wished to the crew. In both villages, a section of people have to. moved away, organising themselves into labour associations that perform similar functions as the Shrewdness in Acquiring Compensation panchayat. Some panchayats also changed because of their unwillingness to prepare incorrect figures.23 There were The uture several pressures from different members in villages In looking to the future, there are some common to quote larger damage compensation to the state. concerns of the community that were articulated. The extra compensation thus obtained was distributed between the members. Changes in Ecology In one village, a member of the previous Only three villages felt that the there has been no change panchayat claimed that it was changed in ebruary in the ecology of the coast because of the tsunami. because the members refused to quote higher damages One pointed to the systematic deterioration of the for increased compensation. The resulting low ecology unleashed in the past few decades of compensation had led to conflict in the village. inally, modernization (dredging for the Sethu Samudram the panchayat was changed and a new one brought in. project, for instance) and mechanization. There has In spite of this, villagers recount that there has been been steady pollution of the coastal waters. Chemical no history of conflict in the village to date. In another wastes from neighbouring industries dump their village too, the panchayat was changed because it under- effluents into the sea. Mechanized boats using large represented the damage. urthermore, the previous nets have increased. At least 42 varieties of fish have panchayat head was not in good health, and was hence been eradicated. Mangroves and other trees on the unable to fulfil his responsibilities. shore that could reduce the impact of storms and other natural disasters have been destroyed. Aggravation of Historical Conflict Almost all the other villages on the coast felt that The historical cohesiveness of the village determined the tsunami had affected the ecology of the coastline, how membership representation and damage the winds and currents of the sea. The changes listed assessment was arrived upon. The post-tsunami included: disaster compensation has further aggravated conflicts Erosion of the coast: Many villages report the volume and polarised factions within the villages, particularly of water in the sea has increased: it has moved closer, in villages with highly politicised panchayats, with each eroding the coast; and the volume of the sea has faction forced to compete against each other for increased with the normal tides now as high as those limited resources. The aid redistribution exacerbated on new and full moon days. existing conflicts. In Nagapattinam, the distribution of aid (cash Turbulence: The sea is now turbulent with more forceful and fishing craft distributed) was directly affected by currents and winds like those seen only on new moon the panchayat’s ability to negotiate ongoing conflicts and full moon nights. One village reported strange between mechanized and artisanal fishing interests.24 sounds at sea, like those in heavy storms. Where the panchayat has been seen to be partisan to Drinking water: One village claimed that its underground the interests of the mechanized sector, labour drinking water supplies have dried out. Two others

238 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings India Special Study narrate that the water has been contaminated after the NGO to do so. Now people are fishing in the sea disaster and is not as sweet as before. again, though they remain wary. Weather, wind and currents: The ability to predict winds ear of the Sea and currents in the sea is critical for fishing. Knowledge The unpredictability and severity of the tsunami have of these factors is very highly valued. In many villages, left many fishermen with lingering doubts about the fishermen report that they are no longer map these as nature, behaviour and safety of the sea. Their well as before, resulting in disorientation, both in uncertainty about their predictions of the coastal fishing and in gauging safety. behaviour has increased these doubts. Seabed: Many villages, particularly in Kanchipuram, This has resulted in changes in their fishing commented that that the nature of the seabed, its rock practices. They are unwilling to stay at sea especially at formations, areas of slime and sand have changed, night or when the waters are turbulent. Members of probably because of the forceful ebb of the tidal the village go in groups. Only 60 per cent of the people wave. Villagers estimate that four or five years will be who earlier used to fish go to the sea now. Most of required before they can chart the seacoast again, to these are younger than 40, while earlier even 55-year- help them to avoid damage to their nets and old men used to go to sea. People return back after a understand fish patterns. specific time even if they have no catch, rather than stay till evening as they used to before the tsunami. Availability of fish: A few villages record an ongoing reduction of fish caused by ecological destruction Education caused by mechanized fishing. However, villages After the tsunami, fishing is seen as both dangerous consistently claim that the amount and variety of fish and erratic, and the emphasis on education as a way available has decreased considerably since the tsunami. to find employment elsewhere has further increased. Villagers also claimed that the behaviour of fish has Most boys are educated till the 10th standard, and changed, including their migration patterns, growth girls till the 8th standard. In earlier times, the average and presence. Only one village attributed the cause of level would only be till 4th or 5th standard, just enough reduction in availability of fish to the increase in the for functional literacy. number of nets used after the tsunami. Different families place varying emphasis on the usefulness of higher education. Seeking education is Restarting Work difficult. Schools are few and children have to travel Almost all the villages on the coast did not start work long distances with little road or transportation access. for at least three months after the tsunami. In some And it does not necessarily promise a secure instances, villages stayed away from the sea for more employment. Many individuals in the community seek than 6 months. Several reasons were quoted. ishing higher education against great odds. Entry here is gear were destroyed, and had to be repaired or difficult, one villager states, and reservation as a most acquired. ishing craft were damaged. After the backward caste will help. tsunami, there was a general rule in the community Some villages hold that some of the children do along the coast that till all the members had seaworthy not even know how to swim. Others maintain that fishing craft, no one will go for fishing. The 45-day not all the children will be able to get employment ban when fishing is not allowed also occurred during outside, and may have to fish for their livelihoods. the same period. All members had to be present during Their children are encouraged to learn the work on relief and rehabilitation distribution to ensure equity. the seas during their holidays, so that they have the Those boats that did go to the sea did not make option of fishing to fall back on. One village enough money to cover even the diesel costs of comments that most people will continue to fish for running the boat. their livelihood. A small percentage of people who Only one village reported wryly that they went have money and can afford higher education will back to the sea four days after the tsunami and stayed migrate out. Another pointed out that fisherfolk through the night, because they were convinced by an communities have stagnated in their growth because

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 239 India Special Study they have become inward-looking. Before Here he asked villages to volunteer for undertaking maintenance. mechanization, fishermen used to stay at sea only for At that time four villages came forward. They were Karaikalmedu, Kilinjalmedu, Nambiar Nagar and Aryanattuturai. In order to five or six hours a day. Now with the increase in select between these four, the king laid down a severe test of mechanized fishing craft, they remain at sea for 3–4 faith. One of the villagers from each village had to be ready to days and lose touch with the world. Their knowledge descend into a boiling vat of oil. Whoever survived this would does not expand. then qualify for the custody of the temple. The heads of the village returned to their villages to consult the other members, Those with access to education, knowledge and hesitant to proceed with the life-threatening test. networks in the outside modern world move away In Nambiar Nagar, one of the villagers was renowned for his from these villages as quickly as possible, rather than devotion to Siva. He came to hear about the king’s test and staying and using this knowledge to foster stronger volunteered that he would be willing to undergo it, vesting his linkages within. As a consequence, the community has faith in the god, willing to surrender his life if required. His only concern was about the future of his three daughters. Recognizing been deprived of critical awareness and education that of all people, he was the one most likely to pass the test, the about current realities. grateful village in return promised that it would take care of all his daughters. Endnotes The other three villages could not identify anyone with equally strong faith. The devotee from Nambiar Nagar was brought 1 Referred to in the Tamil classic Silapaddikaram before the king. Preparations were made for him to descend into 2 Cuddalore the vat of oil. The devotee was completely equanimous at the critical time, but was stopped by the king, who commented that 3 One way to understand this complex word could be as the all he wanted was the evidence of courage and faith, and willingness to bind individual actions to collective will. preparedness to undergo such a severe test was enough. There 4 The Iccinapattinam temple in the neighbouring village is was no reason now to go further on this course of action. Thus considered famous because of the manifestation of the goddess, the custody of the temple was given to the village and it became kannanore mariamman. This temple is shared equally between the the thalai (head) village of the 64 villages. The village is the site two villages. The story of the idol of the goddess in the temple for the annual Mahakalsi—the day when the gods come to the is as follows. The goddess is said to have to come to the shore of water to play. The god from the temple is brought to the seashore the village, to be worshipped here. The sea boiled off the shore with great pomp to dip in the sea. of Icchinampattinam; and there was a cluster of heavy fish that Adipattanayanar: Adipattanayanar, one of the 63 Nayanars of came into the idaivalai. The katumarram people at sea found that Tamil tradition, was said to be a fisherman who lived in Nambiar there was a statue of the goddess in their nets. They brought the Nagar. It is said that this saint loved Lord Siva so much that he goddess to shore and established her as the village deity. would offer the first share of the catch to the god and release it 5 In one village, villagers narrate that the children of the village back into the sea. He continued this practice both during good sought refuge in the temple during the assault of the wave, and and bad times. hence remained safe. A time arrived when there was no fish in the sea, and his family went hungry. The saint still continued in his practice of giving 6 One village narrates that Thirukandapuram (Soundraraja Perumal) was to have come to the seashore. There he saw a the first share to the god. Then the god decided to test him, and beautiful fisher girl called Padmini Nachiar, who was 13 years sent a golden fish to his net as his first catch. He wanted to see if old. He kidnapped her to marry her. However she started her adversity and greed would make the saint forget his practice. periods. Soundraraja Perumal’s first wife Andavananachiar would However, Adipattanayanar remained unaffected by the golden not allow the menstruating girl into the temple. Hence she spent fish and returned this too to the sea in the name of the god. three days in the village before she accompanied her husband Pleased by this unwavering devotion, Lord Siva appeared before back to his house. Even now in memory of these three days, the him and blessed him, whereby he became one of the Nayanars. god’s idol comes from the temple and spends three days in the The name of the village: A story is told about how the name of the village before going back. Traditionally, the women of the village village came about. The Chola king and his wife often strolled cover their heads and ensure that their faces are not seen by down the seashore enjoying the sweet breeze. Once, however, strangers, so as to prevent kidnapping. the air was very still, and the king complained about it. One of the fishermen nearby looked to the sea and pointed out to a 7 One reason for these conversions is the support (emotional and wave on the water. He told the king that there would be a good material) that the church gives these people. breeze when the wave went back and returned, i.e., in about 8 The tax is called vari. Payment of a tax marked membership in half an hour. Sure enough, when the wave returned, with it Kanchipuram district. came a breeze. Commenting on the accuracy of the fisherman’s The king felt that the maintenance of the temple and its property prediction, the king called the village Nambiar Nagar—a village should be given to a village that was courageous and united. All that can be trusted (nambi means trust in Tamil). This story also the villages competed for this honour. The king had a big puja marks the honour paid to the fisherfolk, who were renowned at (religious ceremony) and called the heads of all the villages to it. that time for their honesty and reliability.

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10 Large nets that scrape the ocean floor and capture eggs and fish has spread to the temple festival too. The expenses for the festival just hatched. These conflicts about nets are symptomatic of the and the salary of the priest come from contributions by all the deeper issues between the mechanized and artisanal fishing members of the village. One of the governance roles is to ensure sectors. that these formalities are completed annually. However in the village, the labour union claimed that the nattar has neglected 11 They are known for their impartiality and impeccability in maintaining records. The village itself has not had disputes for these responsibilities, forcing them to perform these functions. more 50 years. The labour union claims that the ownership of the village land has now been transferred in the nattar’s name. The original 12 Periyakuppam was the mother village, and they had fisheries ownership was a kootupattai, where the land was commonly held society in this village by 54 members of the village. This land is temple (vaidaranyam) 13 The functions of the nattar and chettiar are similar, and only land given to the village. It is claimed that the 54 names have indicate a difference in practice. In the document, the term been scratched out and replaced by the nattar’s name in red ink in nattar is used to include the chettiars of Kanchipuram. the legal property document. There is a court case against this 14 The case of village D: In one village in Madras district, 40 transfer of property. The proceedings have been stayed till the years ago there were three chettiars. Of the three chettiars, only tsunami work is over. one was in power till 1998. The other two families had slowly Efforts to nominate a new panchayat in the village have not lost their prominence over the years. The village is a very wealthy been successful. Once, when the nattar did resign in an emotional village and get profits from the shops both at the temple (which move, a new panchayat was nominated. This proved short- is an important one) and from the Mount Mary Church. These lived—the nattar returned back to power through insidious shops are auctioned every year for about Rs 20 lakh each; this means. The village has had several meetings with the 64-village amount is then divided and distributed equally amongst all the cluster to resolve the conflict and unite the village. The nattar is members of the village. The chettiar system was finally done not willing to listen to reason. away with because he failed to show accounts adequately, was After the tsunami, in the initial period of relief distribution, all not considerate to the needs of the village people and did not the villagers remained united. The nattar was hospitalised because allow them to become independent of the fishing trade. The he broke a leg, and therefore could not influence the village crisis was precipitated when the chettiar undertook the much. Within a short time of his return to the village, the factions responsibility of giving kuzhu to the village deity (food cooked have re-emerged. Aid towards village development organized by for the entire village as part of a ritual). inally, on the day of the labour union has been disrupted by the nattar. A community/ the ceremony, he performed it within his house and went to the marriage hall worth about Rs 28 lakh of rupees was to be built temple without including the rest of the village. When the in the village. The nattar complained to the temple trust owning villagers came to know about this, they were furious and forced the village land, which has in turn prohibited the construction him to step down altogether. of the marriage hall. 15 The case of village K: This village is in the midst of severe The nattar’s power is maintained by his easy access to the state conflict. The village has a nattar system. A labour union has now bureaucracy and the district collector. His sophistication in been formed. The village was split into factions around these engaging with outside agencies and people has added to this two affiliations, about 4–5 years ago. One adhered to the nattamayi power. This has increased after the tsunami, with increased and the other nominated a labour union. interventions by the state and development organizations. The village has some of the best fishing grounds in the area The labour association says that 70 per cent of the ooru supported because of its proximity to the Palk Bay. As a result, fishing is the union before the tsunami, even though they were afraid of highly mechanized, with many trawlers from the district fishing the nattar. All compensation is being distributed between the in these waters. Over a period of time, artisanal fishing suffered. two camps, which are serviced by different non-governmental Many people in the village felt that the entry of fishing craft agencies. Most people in the village move between the two camps from outside should be stopped. so that no aid is lost. As a result of this, village affiliations along These fishing craft used to erect a cluster of thatch huts to store the conflict lines have become unpredictable. their nets near the village. These thatched huts were burnt down 16The village has about 500 fisherfolk. This is now divided into and conflict broke out. Cases were filed against 18 of the labour three parts—south, middle and north—to prevent the formations union members, claiming that they were involved in the burnings of factions. This has been the consequence of a falling out about and murders. It is believed that this intervention by the police 15–20 years ago, when it was agreed that all the three factions could not have been without the tacit support of the nattar. This will work independently to avoid further conflict. There used to support to move against members of the labour union, they be a chettiar and a nattamayi, but no longer. believe, is because of his partisanship towards the mechanized sector, which had the most to lose when the ban was imposed. With this split, the village panchayat was also dissolved. Thus they claim that there is no formal panchayat. There are five panchayat Since then, there have been several conflicts in the village, with members in the south village. These are not official. These villagers becoming partisans of one or the other camp. This split panchayat members continue their work and there are no in the village is reflected in their temple for the village goddess. nominations or elections. The panchayat comes together only if The construction of the temple has been suspended over several there is a need. They will come together to solve problems, give years, with both sides preventing its completion. This conflict judgements and then disperse.

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The villager we spoke to was quite insistent that there were no sangam (labour union) and asked for a 2 per cent raise in their formal authority, and that the power he enjoyed was because of share of the catch. This was violently suppressed by the fishing his concern for and contribution to the community. He also craft owner association in the village. The community of labourers claimed that one reason why the panchayat is not formal is that did not have the organizing capacity required to hold firm. The the village does not have any income and is poor. Therefore the labour association maintains that the nature of the village panchayat only works to solve family problems and does not panchayat has changed considerably in the last two decades, look into law and order situations. with increased domination by fishing craft owners and those 17 The case of P: P is educated and does not go to fish. In 1965, with money. This is the only panchayat that is elected and follows the new gram panchayat was elected from the village. P’s father electoral party factions. was the new panchayat leader. At that time, the district collector 19 Villages E and : E and  villages were under the control of chose the panchayat leader. P is also called Ravanan. When asked one of the religious maddams (ashram-type establishment), why he has such an unusual nickname, he narrates that his father associated with a nearby Murugan temple. The maddam was started was greatly influenced by Periyar, and wanted to remove religious by a person called Baliar Samy 18 generations ago, or so the story superstition. His home was one of the few households that had goes. He acted as the citrarasan (petty king) and his word was a radio, and he worked to get electricity and roads to the village. law. P too is in the gram panchayat and is acquainted with and The two villages traditionally used to supply half the catch for supported by district officials both within the reve nue the maddam as toll. This toll was considered to be a mark of their department and the police. devotion. They also had to give bags of rice on guru pooshan (a He had, through his contacts within the state administration, Hindu festival day) to the maddam (religious institution). The obtained a lease for a khadi shop from the government. The members of the two villages also had to serve the madam, and chettiar did not want him to set up this shop and threatened their labour could be commanded when required. The people him. He got the shop despite this. He tried to point out to the from the villages had to carry the samiar (mendicant) in a palanquin, chettiar that the shop was on porambokku (common village land and undertake any other personal task that he sets them to do. If that is lying fallow) land and was not personal property, and that they were in their houses sleeping at the time when they were the shop too was government property that he had to lease called, they would be woken up with burns from hot sticks and annually. Therefore there was no reason for objection to his made to work. They were restricted from wearing chappals, white setting up this shop. dhotis and watches and from carrying umbrellas, all considered The chettiar threatened to break down the shop and put it in the signs of respectability and status. They could not refuse to give sea. In turn, P registered a case with the police station. The fish and rice, work for the maddam or violate the restrictions police station summoned the chettiar for the enquiry. About 200 placed on them. The village would pressurise individuals to people from the village went to the police station in support of comply, as it was believed that if they disobeyed, the village the chettiar. In the station, the chettiar treated the police inspector would face illness and death. with disrespect, who became enraged and ordered a lathicharge The larger agrarian village to which these fishing hamlets belong on the gathered people. On returning back to the village, they has two other major castes—the Gounders and the Vanniars. broke the shop and threw it into the sea. They also set his house These oppressive practices are changing slowly, though this has on fire with his children inside. Relatives rescued the children. been a difficult process. The practice of giving fish was They beat up the police photographer. Because he went out of discontinued only two decades ago when the villagers revolted. the community to the police, he was placed under mariyal, and Despite the revolution, the samiar’s influence is still felt in the no one within the village was allowed to interact with him and two villages. To this date, the nattar and the panchayat have to his family, and they were forced to flee the village. refer to the maddam’s decree to sort out their problems. The inally, the police filed a case against the chettiar, and he withdrew. maddam keeps track of the important happenings in the village; The case was settled in 1990, and the chettiar was asked to pay and it is difficult to keep information from them. Thus it was compensation for the destruction of the house. Though the assumed that even the interview for this study would be reported damage amount was close to Rs 75000, the chettiar finally agreed to them immediately. to pay Rs 50000. One reason for this was that he worked in the The land in the village is held by the maddam trust. Though this harbour in a central government job and was scared of losing it. was traditionally village land, it was acquired by the maddam as P came back to the village in 1998. part of a yagna, wherein a horse was let loose and all the territories 18 Village O: O lies at the junction of a river and the sea and that it covered was appropriated by the maddam. Most of the therefore has both rich fishing grounds and fertile land. It is the land in the village is now held by the temple trust, and only the last village lying to the north in the cluster. In 1983, a harbour pattas of a few houses are with the people. Much of this land has was constructed and the number of mechanized fishing craft in been sold to foreigners at large profits, without the consent of the village increased. Large numbers of people migrated into the the villagers. village in the last two decades as crew on these fishing craft. In The maddam threatens the use of physical force even to this date the village, there is a hamlet of Vanniachis who work as crew on to enforce its writ. It is backed by the 3000 family-strong Vanniar the trawlers and fish in the inland river. However a significant hamlet. Any attempt to resist means the invoking of this force number of members from the same Pattinavar community also against the fishing hamlet. Narrating an instance, the village is work as crew. They are usually poorer and have no fishing craft. not allowed to carry its dead on the road but instead has to use At that time, many of the people working as crew formed a the seashore. Recently this was not possible because the

242 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings India Special Study

topography of the land changed. The villagers carried the dead ostracised from work in the area and that their fishing craft will body on the road. People affiliated to the maddam attacked them. be towed away by trawlers. Though the people were not willing The samiar has asked for the burial ground to be shifted from its to accept this judgement, the panchayatars were forced to sign traditional place to one closer to the sea. The villagers are afraid this document. that the sea will erode the ground and expose the buried bodies, The old panchayat members also approached the police station but see no option but to comply. in their jurisdiction. The police recorded the statement from the Village : Though detailed information was not collected in new panchayat members. However when they tried to file a case the study about this phenomenon, one example was narrated. As against the previous panchayat members, the police refused to recently as in 2001, one of the families in the village was asked file the IR. The police ruled that the old panchayat members to pay Rs 10000 for installing electricity in its house, because it will pay a fine of Rs 1000 and then be accepted back in the was on temple land. The son in the family protested. After a village. No further action was taken. struggle for over a year, the panchayat reduced the amount to Rs The current panchayat members were put in place by the old 4000. It was only after a final threat to involve the whole panchayatars. The previous panchayat has experience of the fishermen’s community that the amount was reduced. In this electoral systems and has good relations with the bureaucracy. year, the family had no access to electricity and the boy had to Some of the new members selected were reluctant to take on study by lamplight for his post-graduation degree. this position. They were threatened by the panchayat that if The village did not have a panchayat for two years before the they refused to do so, and then they had to sign a document tsunami. The panchayat members said that it was not necessary surrendering their (and their families’) rights to be nominated to to have a panchayat during the regular functioning of the village. the panchayat in future. All the people nominated were forced Upon closer questioning, it was discovered that there was a to sign. conflict between two factions in the village. This has been so Most of the new members selected were people who did not bitter that no panchayat has been able to function till the tsunami; have political experience, were meek and silent in the face of the yearly temple festival was organized only two months ago panchayat power, and had mainly concerned themselves with after two years. The panchayat has changed many times in the fishing. The panchayat is shaken and the panchayatars were unsure last year, and panchayatars are looked upon with suspicion. It is about how long their stand would hold out. Of the 11 members taken for granted that those who are in the panchayat will use in the current panchayat, 2 are part of the families of the old the position to increase their own incomes. panchayatars. They and their pangalis (about 100-odd families) 20 The case of Village X: Villagers report that the relief have aligned against the current panchayat. The panchayatar who compensation given by the government was only for 148 out of narrated this has himself received several death threats. The 165 families. About 37 people got left out of the enumeration police have not acted on any of the complaints on these death process. The panchayat reports that the government has threats. enumerated 229 cards in the village, of which they dispensed The case of village Z: The village was given compensation for 148 cards. When this came to the attention of the panchayat, 511 families. In the third instalment, the panchayat members they demanded and received compensation for another 40 cards. found that the list at the ration shop had 813 names. This made The case of Village Y: There are a total of 331 families in the them suspicious, leading them to enquire about all the lists once village. Totally, the relief amount (Rs 4000 + Rs 1000 per month again. The new copies had only 511 people listed as beneficiaries. for four months) distributed by the revenue department was for Not satisfied, the village organized a rasta roko asking about the 618 cards. Before the collection of the last instalment, the false numbers listed. State pressure was brought to bear on them panchayat changed as a matter of course. While collecting the and the police were brought in to disperse the protestors. The last instalment for the village, the new panchayat demanded a panchayatars and village elders quickly decided to disperse, afraid receipt. The tehsildar refused to give them one, which is when of an outbreak of violence, especially amongst the youth. Since they came to know about the inflated numbers. this public protest, the village has been punished, whereby non- He questioned their demand saying that if the previous panchayat governmental organizations providing disaster support have been had been unconcerned about receipts, why should this one redirected to other villages. This is in spite of the fact that the bother. He offered Rs 50000 to the current panchayat for not village is one of those with the largest number of fishing craft pursuing the issue further. The panchayat refused and shared this and one of the largest catches on the coast, as many of the information with the village. They finally accepted Rs 40000 villagers go fishing regularly. under pressure. The case of village D: Villagers narrate that the first round of When the new panchayat returned to the village and confronted enumeration only included those who lived on the shore. Then the old members about the distribution of relief, they refused to the people did a hartal (strike), because of which about 1200 give accounts for the discrepancies, and then disappeared. The more people were included. When asked about the significantly village passed a judgement of mariyal against the head of the old larger figure, the villager said that the larger numbers included panchayat and the cashier. people who were not in fishing but worked as skilled labour in the city and were living on premises in the village. They in turn appealed to the head of the district, who imposed a fine of Rs 10000 (instead of the Rs 1 lakh each expected) on Kanchipuram: To increase state ‘commissions’, villagers report, 8 members of the old panchayat. Additionally, the new a second round of enumeration of fishing craft damage was panchayatars were ordered to not ask for accounts or move ordered in Kanchipuram district, more than six months after the further on this issue. Threats were issued saying that they will be tsunami. By this time, much of the debris had been cleared in the

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 243 Field Trip Programme villages and evidence was difficult to show. This issue was The labour faction of the village demanded that the money discussed in the Kanchipuram district committee of panchayats. given for the kattumarams should be divided amongst the families At that time, many villages agreed to stand together, resisting who go as labourers on the trawlers and do not have a fishing this damage assessment. While some villages refused the process craft of their own. The panchayat did not agree to this. One of re-enumeration, others permitted it. Those villages that reason is that it will be difficult for the panchayatars to find new permitted the second round of damage assessment have received crew members. In addition, the labourers asked for shares in the complete compensation. Those that resisted it have been punished, compensation paid to the fishing craft owners for the loss of and the aid dispensed is very low (e.g., Alambaraikuppam). their trawlers, since they were also shareholders in the catch. 21 Two villages maintained that their damages have been This request was also denied, saying that these fishing craft were underestimated because they questioned the government about private property and the owner had complete right to the entire the inflated beneficiary figures. urther, despite heavy loss of compensation amount. When the labour association held to its life in the former and extensive damage to fishing craft in the stand, violence broke out and they had to shift out of the village. latter, no non-governmental aid has been forthcoming. One village One section of the village has left their original homes and has not received any RP fishing craft, an unusual circumstance settled further down the coast as a separate settlement. when almost all villages have received at least a few fishing Currently, the panchayat has allocated 127 kattumarams to this craft. This, the villagers believe, is because the state has redirected hamlet and 26 to the Vanniachis, while retaining 50 in the original the voluntary organizations away from these villages as village. The share of the labour association was however not punishment. The only compensation that the village has received forthcoming. They in turn called for a 16-village meeting; where from any NGO is a few kattumarams the Pallyar panchayat was ordered to pay compensation. The 22 In one village, people who got compensation for the first instalment of this has been distributed amongst all the mechanized fishing craft were willing to give Rs 750000 to the members of the village. village. When asked about the willingness of fishing craft owners urther, the ooru panchayat only allocated 40 RP fishing craft to share their compensation, the panchayatar commented that promised by a non-governmental organization. Of these only 14 these fishing craft had been anchored outside the area and had have arrived. These fishing craft were to be shared among suffered no damage, except that arising from not being used. groups of 4–5 members in this community. There were too few These fishing craft owners had requested the panchayat to at fishing craft to be shared amongst all the workers. least seek Rs 1 lakh each. When they received a compensation of The panchayat itself holds that many of the numbers citied by the Rs 3.5 lakhs, they had no objections to giving part of it to the labour association are not accurate and are based on accounts village. Of the Rs 2.5 lakhs given to the mechanized fishing delivered by a continuous flow of different aid agencies into craft, one-third was collected by the gram panchayat for the Pallyar, which did not include the panchayat in the enumeration village fund. process. 23 In one village, an old gentleman has kept village accounts for The case of village M: In another village too, there is a split 34 years as part of his traditional secretarial role to the panchayat. with the formation of a labour union. The reason cited is that Part of his functioning included reading accounts out to the the panchayat is increasingly unconcerned about the needs of gram sabha (quarterly, half-yearly and annually) for its scrutiny. artisanal fishing. This has increasingly become evident post- He claims that he refused to undertake his role in the village tsunami, especially during the relief period, when the panchayat because he did not want to be part of the errors committed was completely unconcerned about their well-being and did not then. even visit them when they sought shelter in a neighbouring 24 The case of village O: The current conflict has been marriage hall for the first three days after the tsunami. The lack precipitated by the way the panchayat has mediated and of interest by the panchayat members precipitated the formation distributed the compensation that has been received. They remark of the labour association. that the panchayat mostly behaved equitably during the relief The case of village R: Though the village originally maintained dispensation phase. However the labour association claims that that there were no changes in the panchayat after the tsunami, most of the benefits of the aid subsequently go to the fishing there is some indication that the village was previously divided craft owners and not to the artisanal fisherfolk. into two factions. The current panchayat is about three years They described this through how fishing craft were distributed. old. There were 16 members originally, of whom one was asked There were 59 mechanized fishing craft and 203 kattumarams to step down. The reason given was that he had committed a allocated to the 1170 families in the village. About 110 mistake. When questioned more closely, they indicated that there kattumarams were originally used to ply between the mechanized were two factions in the village. This history of blood feuds, fishing craft and the shore, transferring the catch and stocking dating back more than 22 months, still continues in the village. the fishing craft. The head of the village also acts as the head of the 19-village cluster of Vizhupuram.

244 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings RecommendationsField Trip Programme

Recommendations Towards Post-tsunami Rehabilitation of ishing Communities: Recommendations from the NGO Meeting on Post-tsunami Rehabilitation of %ishing Communities and %isheries-based Livelihoods, organized by ICS Chennai, 17 January 2006 These recommendations were presented at ICS’s “Regional Workshop on Post-tsunami Rehabilitation of ishing Communities and isheries-based Livelihoods”, held in Chennai on 18 and 19 January 2006

The past year has seen considerable mobilization of be in the joint names of the woman and the aid and diverse interventions towards relief and man of the household. rehabilitation of tsunami-affected populations in Asia, including fishing communities, who are considered Quality of rehabilitation assistance among the worst affected. A little over a year after 4. Tsunami rehabilitation programmes should the tsunami and after taking stock of interventions adopt a broader coastal development aimed at rehabilitating fishing communities, we— approach, and should aim to improve the organizations that have been working with fishing quality of life and livelihood of coastal communities for a considerable period of time in Sri communities, including those not directly Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand and India—wish to affected by the tsunami. Particular attention emphasize aspects that need to be integrated into the should be paid to historically marginalized ongoing interventions of governments, multilateral communities and victims of conflict. agencies and NGOs. 5. Governments should put in place mechanisms for the maintenance of public Land and shelter utilities provided by donors/NGOs as part 1. It is important to urgently resolve issues still of tsunami relief/rehabilitation programmes. hindering completion of permanent housing 6. Mechanisms for maintaining community as part of tsunami rehabilitation, particularly assets created post-tsunami, such as auction issues of land allocation, after paying special halls and fish drying and processing facilities, attention to the problems of tenants and the should be assessed, and, where lacking or homeless. Where communities decide to inadequate, should be established, in relocate, rights to vacated coastal lands should participation with communities. remain vested with the community. 7. Transparent, single-window mechanisms 2. Housing sites for fishery-dependent tsunami should be set up to register complaints about victims should be located at a convenient the quality of the tsunami rehabilitation that distance from areas where fishing has been delivered, as, for example, poor communities store fishing equipment, access housing and poor-quality boats. Such fishing grounds and dry fish. It is important complaints should be addressed in a timely to ensure common quality standards, use of manner. locally available material and technology, 8. Regional and other imbalances in the proper habitat planning, basic amenities, equity provision of tsunami rehabilitation assistance and the involvement of the fishing should be assessed, and equity in access to community in the reconstruction process. aid, ensured. 3. Titles to houses built as part of tsunami 9. Mechanisms for co-ordination of tsunami rehabilitation should be provided, and should rehabilitation at different levels, and between

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 245 Recommendations

various actors, should be established/ there is clear evidence that there has been a strengthened. Government-NGO shortfall in replacing vessels in particular partnerships for co-ordination of tsunami regions. Where affected persons have not rehabilitation should be fostered. received vessels in a situation of oversupply, 10. Mechanisms to promote accountability of the mechanisms to provide replacements should different actors involved in tsunami be established without further addition to the rehabilitation—governments, NGOs and fishing fleet. others—should be established. 16. Efforts should be made to ensure that appropriate and selective fishing gear Local institutions compatible with the status of fishery 11. Under tsunami rehabilitation, local and resources are distributed under tsunami traditional institutions should be strengthened, rehabilitation programmes. after assessing their roles, potentials and limitations. A coherent and sensitive strategy 17. Diversification of fishing activities to target should be developed to work with them and offshore fishery resources as part of tsunami to strengthen them in the long run. rehabilitation should be undertaken only if there is evidence of resource availability and Protection and restoration of coastal habitats financial viability of such fishing operations. 12. Protection and restoration of coastal habitats 18. Replacement of fishing vessels lost to the and biodiversity should be undertaken on a tsunami that have habitually been targeting priority basis and should not be confined to fishery resources in the waters of neighbour- tsunami-affected areas. It is necessary to ing countries should be done only after due implement/put in place measures to regulate consultation with stakeholders to lay down activities that can pollute, degrade or otherwise conditions of access to such fishery resources. harm the coastal environment and its capacity to protect coastal communities from future 19. Brackishwater aquaculture and mariculture natural disasters. should be promoted as an alternative source of employment in tsunami-affected areas only 13. Habitat restoration programmes in tsunami- after addressing concerns of environmental affected areas should be undertaken in and social sustainability. participatory ways, and should not lead to alienation of communities from coastal lands. 20. Systems for effective registration of craft, The focus of coastal afforestation gear, engines and fishers should be established programmes, such as shelter belts, should be to streamline post-tsunami rehabilitation of on native, indigenous species, and on building the fisheries sector and, where appropriate, local awareness about their importance. governments should establish such systems in co-operation with relevant local institutions isheries management and NGOs. 14. A scientific assessment to improve 21. Participatory programmes to improve and understanding about the possible impact of strengthen management regimes for the the tsunami on fishery resources and habitats conservation of fishery resources and should be undertaken in affected and protection of fish habitats should be unaffected areas. There is, for example, reason undertaken in the context of post-tsunami to believe that even some “unaffected” areas rehabilitation programmes. ailures on this are facing problems of high tides and waves account in the past underline the need for after the tsunami. greater co-operation amongst fishing 15. urther construction and distribution of communities, departments of fisheries, small-scale fishing vessels as part of tsunami fishworker organizations, NGOs and rehabilitation should be undertaken only if scientists.

246 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Recommendations

Sea safety develop systems appropriate to the social, 22. Safety of fishing vessels and fishing economic and legal environment of each operations should be given greater attention country affected by the tsunami. under tsunami rehabilitation programmes. Census of fishing communities Setting standards for boatbuilding and developing awareness among fishers about 25. A periodic census of men and women safety aspects need to be undertaken on a involved in fishing and fishery-related activities, priority basis. ishers should be imparted including migrant fishers, should be sufficient training in basic sea safety in undertaken on a priority basis to facilitate accordance with the draft revised AO/ proper enumeration and effective ILO/ IMO ishing Vessel Safety Code and compensation during natural calamities, such Voluntary Guidelines. as a tsunami. Post-harvest operations in fisheries Disaster preparedness 23. Tsunami-rehabilitation programmes to 26. Programmes to enhance community-based support the post-harvest sector should disaster preparedness and training should be promote labour-intensive, locally appropriate, initiated/continued. low-cost technologies of fish processing. The Women in fisheries establishment of cold chains should ensure 27. Women of fishing communities engaged in that they benefit, and not displace, the small- fisheries operations (fishing, marketing scale fish processors and traders. processing, etc.) should be recognized as Insurance, compensation and social security workers in their own right. Tsunami rehabili- 24. Vessel and crew insurance should be made tation programmes should be tailored to mandatory for all fishing operations at meet their requirements and should aim to affordable premia. Social security schemes in improve women’s livelihoods, conditions tsunami-affected countries, including accident of work, access to resources and social benefit schemes for fishing and other coastal security. communities, should be developed to enhance long-term resilience and to ensure Diversification of livelihood options rapid recovery from disasters. The 28. The quality of education and opportunities for experiences of State-run systems, skill development should be enhanced to enable commercially run systems and community- diversification of the livelihood options of managed systems need to be reviewed, to tsunami-affected fishing communities.

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 247 Workshop Programme

Appendix 1

REGIONAL WORKSHOP ON POST-TSUNAMI REHABILITATION O ISHING COMMUNITIES AND ISHERIES-BASED LIVELIHOODS IMAGE Auditorium, MRC Nagar, R A Puram, Chennai, India

18 and 19 January 2006

PROGRAMME

Wednesday, 18 January 2006 0830 – 0900 hrs Registration

0900 – 0945 hrs Inaugural session: Welcome: Chandrika Sharma, Executive Secretary, ICS Overview of workshop: V. Vivekanandan, Chief Executive South Indian ederation of ishermen Societies (SIS) and Member, ICS Inaugural address: Professor A. Vaidyanathan, Economist Chair: R. Santhanam, Special Commissioner & Commissioner of Revenue Administration, Disaster Management & Mitigation Department, Government of Tamil Nadu, India

0945 – 1000 hrs TEA

1000 – 1145 hrs Self-introduction by participants Country reports: Presentation/discussion: Indonesia study Chair: Y. S. Yadava, Director, Bay of Bengal Programme Inter-Governmental Organization (BOBP)

1145 – 1315 hrs Country reports: Presentation/discussion: Thailand study Chair: Muhammed Adli, Panglima Laot, Aceh, Indonesia

1315 – 1430 hrs LUNCH

1430 – 1600 hrs Country reports: Presentation/discussion: Sri Lanka study Chair: Harekrishna Debnath, Chairperson, National ishworkers’ orum (N), India

1600 – 1615 hrs TEA

1615 – 1730 hrs Presentation/discussion: Maldives Chair: Herman Kumara, Convenor, National isheries Solidarity (NASO), Sri Lanka

1730 – 1900 hrs RECEPTION

248 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings Workshop Programme

Thursday, 19 January 2006 0900 – 1045 hrs Country reports: Presentation/discussion: India study Chair: Pisit Charnsnoh, Yadfon Association, Thailand

0945 – 1000 hrs TEA

1100 – 1230 hrs Presentations by AO, World Bank and ADB on key priorities in their assistance to the fisheries sector in tsunami-affected countries Chair: C.V. Sankar, Officer on Special Duty (Relief and Rehabilitation), Government of Tamil Nadu, India

1230 – 1315 hrs Recommendations to strengthen ongoing rehabilitation: Presentation and discussion Chair: Muhammad Imran Amin, Perkumpulan Telapak, Indonesia

1315 – 1430 hrs LUNCH

1430 – 1600 hrs Panel discussion on key issues to be addressed in ongoing interventions Chair: Derek Staples, Senior isheries Officer, AO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok

1600 – 1615 hrs TEA

1615 – 1730 hrs Summary and conclusions: Sebastian Mathew, ICS; V. Vivekanandan, SIS, and Member, ICS Closure of workshop

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 249 IndonesiaNGO Meeting Country Programme Report

Appendix 2

NGO MEETING ON POST-TSUNAMI REHABILITATION O ISHING COMMUNITIES AND ISHERIES-BASED LIVELIHOODS YWCA International Guest House, 1086 Poonamallee High Road Chennai, India

17 January 2006

PROGRAMME

Tuesday, 17 January 2006 1000 – 1100 hrs Welcome and introduction: ICS Self-introduction by participants

1100 – 1115 hrs TEA

1115 – 1315 hrs Brief presentations by organizations on their work in tsunami rehabilitation, highlighting good examples and practices Chair: Elmer errer, CBCRM Resource Centre, Philippines

1315 – 1415 hrs LUNCH

1415 – 1515 hrs Presentations by organizations (contd.) 1515 – 1545 hrs Presentations of recommendations to strengthen ongoing rehabilitation interventions based on studies undertaken/consultations held Chair: Herman Kumara, National isheries Solidarity (NASO), Sri Lanka

15:45 – 1600 hrs TEA

1600 – 1800 hrs Discussions on recommendations: in country groups 1800 – 1900 hrs Working group meets to finalize recommendations

250 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings NGOIndonesia Meeting Country Report Report

Appendix 3 NGO MEETING ON POST-TSUNAMI REHABILITATION O ISHING COMMUNITIES AND ISHERIES-BASED LIVELIHOODS YWCA, Chennai, India

17 January 2006

REPORT

Participants had swamped the area with their interventions. While Approximately 50 representatives of non- the scale of the disaster varied across countries, there governmental organizations (NGOs) and fishworker were several common problems, including issues organizations from four tsunami-affected countries related to the location of fishing communities, and devastated by the December 2004 tsunami— the poor quality and large numbers of fishing boats Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and India—participated that were provided as replacements. in this one-day meeting. The meeting was organized prior to the Regional Workshop on Post-tsunami Session 1: Sharing Experiences Rehabilitation of ishing Communities and isheries-based Elmer errer of the Community-based Coastal Livelihoods, on 18 and January in Chennai, India. Resources Management Resource Centre (CBCRM RC), Philippines, chaired the session. Brief Introductory Session presentations were made by 21 organizations present Inaugurating the meeting, Chandrika Sharma, at the meeting. The presentations focused on the key Executive Secretary of ICS, said that the objective interventions undertaken by organizations in the post- of the NGO meeting were two-fold: tsunami period, and highlighted some good examples - to provide an opportunity for participants of work that had been undertaken. from various countries to share experiences and Jaring Pela, Indonesia learn from one another; and Muhammad Imran Amin of Perkumpulan Telapak - to enable participants to agree on basic issues (PT), currently the co-ordinator of Jaring Pela, made that need to be addressed by ongoing the presentation. Jaring Pela is a network of rehabilitation interventions, some of which are Indonesian activists, academics, scientists, practitioners, likely to be country-specific. non-governmental organizations (NGOs), people’s She said that the first session of the workshop was to organizations (POs) and youth organizations, whose share experiences and to learn from one another, commitments, activities and experiences are towards particularly about good examples and initiatives in the coping with coastal and marine issues. Its vision is of post-tsunami period. In the second session, a community-based coastal resource management that recommendations that had been culled by the ICS is socially fair and ecologically sustainable. Post- secretariat from studies commissioned in four tsunami, the focus has been on rebuilding lost houses. tsunami-affected countries—India, Indonesia, Thailand There are many donors and NGOs, yet people and Sri Lanka—would be discussed. complain that the problems they face remain V. Vivekanandan, Chief Executive, South Indian unaddressed. Amin said that there is need to improve ederation of ishermen Societies (SIS) and marketing linkages in the fisheries sector, and to adopt Member, ICS, said that two kinds of shocks had an integrated fisheries management framework in been experienced—the first was the tsunami disaster Aceh. Jaring Pela is recommending the development itself and the second, the large number of actors, of a multi-stakeholder agreement on how to develop many with no experience of the fisheries sector, who the fisheries sector from production to marketing.

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 251 NGO Meeting Report

LEAD, India coral reefs and mangroves had reduced the effect of The presentation was made by Radha of the League the tsunami. There is need to increase awareness about for Education and Development (LEAD). LEAD is the importance of coastal habitats even at the primary a women’s initiative that focuses mainly on livelihood school level—once children learn to love their habitat, promotion for marginalized women, and on they will protect it. Natural coastal resources not only promoting the rights of women, children and dalits protect the fishers and their communities but also in India. LEAD forms groups at the grassroot level increase their livelihood opportunities. Yadfon is and networks them to form people’s organizations. working to support fishing communities that wish to LEAD has been working in the tsunami-affected areas protect their environment. of Cuddalore and Villupuram districts. Its concentrates on children and livestock—it vaccinated DHAN oundation, India and dewormed over 8,000 heads of cattle. It also V. Dayalan of Development of Humane Action provided fishing boats in one village in Cuddalore (DHAN) oundation said that DHAN works with and one in Villupuram district, and provided seed organizing communities, downscaling technology and money to groups of women fish vendors. It found upgrading people’s skills. Its focus is on inland fishing that inland fisherfolk were the most affected by communities that are not part of the rehabilitation pollution and siltation of estuaries due to the tsunami, net. Its thrust is also on information and and the invasion of marine fishermen into inland communication technology (ICT) and on setting up fishing. LEAD is working to improve the economic of information centres in villages that can serve as condition of those involved in inland and backwater spokes to a central hub. Communities can access fisheries, and particularly women vendors from inland information about fishing zones, weather forecasts, communities. technologies, government policies, etc. DHAN is also looking at fisher panchayats and their role in dispute Panglima Laot, Indonesia resolution, relief and rehabilitation, habitat The presentation was by Muhammad Adli. The construction, marine conservation, and disaster panglima laot is a traditional system prevalent in Aceh, preparedness and management. Indonesia. The panglima laot has historically played a role in conflict resolution. At present the system is TRRC, India prevalent in 153 villages across Aceh. Post-tsunami, Sibu Mathew explained that the Tsunami Relief and the panglima laot has played a role in facilitating the Rehabilitation Co-ordination (TRRC) was initiated by work of the government and NGOs in relation to three organizations in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. fishing communities. The panglima laot has worked with TRRC works with more than 200 NGOs, international the community in clearing debris, empowering the NGOs (INGOs) and people’s movements. It remains fishing community, especially the women, rehabilitating informal in form and structure. TRRC was formed the fish market in Lamnyong, aiding census activity in with the objectives of monitoring State relief and Aceh in September and supporting the peace rehabilitation activities; influencing relief and movement between the ree Aceh Movement and rehabilitation policies; and influencing all actors, the Government of Indonesia. Adli said that it was a particularly the State, to demonstrate transparency and matter of great sadness that even a year after the accountability. TRRC has organized eight State-level tsunami, and despite the focus of NGOs and the consultations, apart from zonal and district-level government on rebuilding Aceh, people still live in consultations. A number of studies have also been tents and face an uncertain future. taken up and completed. There is an ongoing study on State/NGO/INGO accountability in tsunami Yadfon Association, Thailand relief and rehabilitation. Consultations organized by In his presentation, Pisit Charnsnoh, said that the TRRC have had a major influence on State government Yadfon Association was working with the philosophy orders. TRRC has also successfully drawn the attention that prevention is better than cure. It had been of donors and NGOs to the plight of inland fishing observed, for example, that the presence of seagrasses, communities.

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Caritas India/Catholic Relief Services (CRS), diocese insisted on joint ownership, the fishermen were India convinced that it would not work. In such cases, even C. M. Muralidharan of Action for ood Production if the boats are provided to the group, ownership (APRO) provided information about the livelihoods eventually reverts to one individual. Muralidharan also revival programmes of Caritas India/CRS for stressed the importance of linkages. In Pondicherry, tsunami-affected populations. The focus was on for example, a group of women who learned tailoring ensuring sustainable livelihoods. Strategically it was were linked to meet the government’s requirement. decided to focus only on the traditional sector. Certain Without such links, the presence of two or three tailors practices and principles were followed to avoid in a village was not a viable proposition. duplication of efforts and to ensure sustainability. While providing new craft, for example, quality checks Sahara and WALHI, Indonesia were performed, agreements between the auzi Ismail Zainal Abidin of Sahara oundation and manufacturer and beneficiary were finalized, and Sag Sofyan of Wahana Lingkungan Hidup Indonesia compulsory registration and insurance of craft was (WALHI) made a presentation on their project on ensured. Several areas of intervention were identified, disaster management and livelihoods development including provision of fishing nets, repair of boats post-tsunami. Its focus has been on soil research for and engines, support to fishery-based livelihoods, agricultural purposes, and on the environment and support to agriculture and agri-based livelihoods, skill community-based disaster management campaigns. development and promotion of alternative livelihoods. Sahara performed participatory village mapping with Where cash support was provided, it was through the community’s support to map both natural and self-help groups (SHGs). Long-term measures, human resources, to facilitate rehabilitation. It also including organizing fisherpeople for marketing and provided support for salt manufacturers and crab economic independence, and promotion of artificial farmers who were exploiting the existence of the reefs and mangroves for the revival of fisheries are mangrove forests. All the beneficiaries were women. also being considered. Sahara and WALHI also highlighted some best Muralidharan also outlined some of the best practices, such as planning with the community in all practices followed, such as the following: insurance matters, the community itself determining beneficiaries of life and boats in the Pulicat area; supporting joint and identifying its requirements, supporting local ownership of boats in villages in Chengalpet, in wisdom and initiatives, and involving the community response to the community’s willingness for this; in the monitoring and evaluation process. multiple income-generation programmes for women in Cuddalore and Pondicherry; survey of employment Urban Poor Consortium (UPC), Indonesia opportunities with local potential employers and Muhammad Nawir reported about the Udeep training for skill development accordingly in Beusaree Network, a people’s organization, in Banda Pondicherry area, making fishermen responsible for Aceh, Indonesia that made a declaration in March 2005 boat quality assurance in Nagapattinam and in response to the government’s policy to shift compulsory registration of boats and vallams before communities beyond 2 km from the beach. The distribution in Kanyakumari. There were also some declaration stressed the importance of communities concerns about the increase in the number of boats returning to their home villages. The UPC has worked and their variable quality in some areas, and about the on mapping of site and kampong (village) borders with fact that resource management interventions were still the participation of the community, and on at a very early stage of planning. participatory designs for housing. It is working in 24 During the discussion, questions about joint villages, and constructing a total of 659 units. Sixty ownership of boats were raised. It was pointed out per cent of what is spent goes back to the kampong, as that while joint ownership was accepted in some areas, payment for local labour and materials used. it was not so in others. Several development Discussions with the community help in choosing organizations preferred to provide boats under group decentralized water and sanitation options. UPC has ownership. In Kanyakumari, for example, while the worked on optimizing the use of existing topography

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to provide an escape route during a flood or tsunami. SAN is trying hard to maintain the social fabric Vegetation is being used to provide connecting links of communities in a context where ‘free’ aid is creating between two public spaces (located at the entrance conflicts. The effort is to ensure that communities also of the kampong and on the other side of the hill), as an pay back to a community common fund to be used easy-to-follow route for escape. UPC stresses that for community activities, such as education. This management of construction should be by the people, approach has not been easy, as there are many that there should be collaboration with professionals, organizations in the field. A lot of effort has been put and that the rights of the artisanal fishermen should into building awareness between receiving the money be recognized. for free and using that money for community regeneration. This did not happen overnight but over Save Andaman Network (SAN), Thailand the past one-year period, the positive effects are clearly The presentation was made by representatives of SAN. visible. The SAN is an alliance of six people’s organizations, public organizations and non-profit organizations. It National isheries Solidarity (NA SO), was formed on 28 December 2004 to provide Sri Lanka assistance to coastal communities/villages affected by Herman Kumara of NASO said that in the post- the tsunami, and to ensure better co-ordination in relief tsunami period, Sri Lanka had received considerable and rehabilitation toward longer-term betterment of aid. The Sri Lankan government had appointed the livelihoods. SAN is part of the Collaborative Network Task orce for Rebuilding the Nation (TAREN) to for the Rehabilitation of Andaman Communities and co-ordinate tsunami rehabilitation. However, there was Natural Resources, which is a National Network under little representation of people’s groups or community the NGO-Co-ordinating Committee on perspectives in TAREN. The plan finalized by Development (NGO-COD). The Sustainable TAREN concentrated mainly on megatourism, cities, Development oundation (SD), a registered NGO, highways, and commercial harbours. The focus was serves as the legal entity of both networks. SAN on shifting communities away from the coast (100 m believes in: community revival; direct participation by buffer zone), to facilitate development of tourism. villagers; turning crisis into opportunity by addressing To counter such programmes, several people’s issues such as land conflict and natural resources movements, labour unions, women’s groups and management; and sustainable long-term rehabilitation, NGOs set up a People’s Planning Commission. This including by helping communities set up village funds. commission held consultations in various parts of Sri It works to build the capacity of communities to Lanka, including with communities, NGOs, INGOs restore natural resources and ecosystems. SAN also and church groups. Based on these inputs, the organizes forums to draw out lessons learned from commission has finalized an alternative people’s plan tsunami relief and rehabilitation. for tsunami rehabilitation. This will also be presented The focus is on long-term rehabilitation, and the to the government. In place of TAREN, the network will work with communities for another government has now created a new body, and there three years to ensure rehabilitation. Critical issues that are plans to have a dialogue with this body. have emerged relate to: land conflict, as private In response to a question on the current situation landowners came forward post-tsunami to claim lands regarding the buffer zone, Kumara said that though on which communities had earlier been living; there has been no clarification on the issue, problems of ethnic minorities (sea gypsies) and migrant communities are, in some cases, rebuilding, while workers and their lack of access to relief and rehabilitation; and the problems of women and others are still waiting. In some cases, the buffer zone children in accessing relief and rehabilitation. The has been reduced as a result of people’s pressure. government plans to relocate fishing communities away from the sea, which goes against the way of life of CARE, India communities. SAN has supported communities in In her presentation, Meera Sundararajan said that rebuilding their villages in situ on condition that CARE is a humanitarian aid agency that has been communities construct their own houses. working in India for a long time. CARE works on

254 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings NGO Meeting Report savings and credit, and children. Post-tsunami, CARE owners of craft, and the possible impact on social has been working in Cuddalore, Kanchipuram, relations. ActionAid India is concerned that the Nagapattinam and Karaikal districts of Tamil Nadu, oversupply of boats will lead to marginalization of with local partners. It has made two primary artisanal fisheries. The organization is trying to develop interventions—in the areas of water and sanitation, alliances between groups such as dalits, tribals and and psychosocial care and support. It has looked at artisanal fishers, to prevent the exploitation of natural sanitation issues in temporary shelters, and the cleaning resources. and repair of water bodies. It has built temporary shelters and trained women to use toilets. In South Indian ederation of ishermen Societies psychosocial care, it has been working with the (SI S), India National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences V. Vivekanandan introduced SIS as an apex (NIMHANS) in mainstreaming psychosocial care and organization of 6,000 small-scale boatowning support. Short-term interventions for improving fishermen, employing 25,000 fishermen, and livelihoods have included cash-for-work programmes, organized into 100 primary societies. SIS and its training, and repairing and restoring community members were affected by the tsunami in various facilities. CARE is also constructing about 2,000 ways. Post-tsunami, SIS found itself as the largest permanent houses. The focus has been on shelter NGO on the coast, despite having a presence in only aspects and involving the community in designing four of the eight affected districts of Tamil Nadu. houses. Women have been consulted, which has led Since SIS had a presence in Nagapattinam and to changes in building layout, such as the location of Kanyakumari, the two worst-affected districts, it was doors and toilets. CARE intends to focus on vulnerable decided to focus activities there, apart from providing groups including dalits, irulas, crew and women- limited support to other areas. SIS played five roles headed households. CARE has strategically decided in the rehabilitation process: (i) as a direct provider not to replace boats and nets, and rather, focus on of relief and rehabilitation; (ii) as a service provider shelter. to others involved in relief and rehabilitation; (iii) as a partner with NGOs working in other sectors, such as ActionAid, India agriculture; (iv) in co-ordination of relief and In his presentation, Amar Jyoti said that ActionAid rehabilitation; and (v) in long-term development India had worked to address the immediate needs of activities. As a direct provider, SIS set up relief people in relief and rehabilitation, partnering with 25 camps in Kanyakumari and Nagapattinam. Perhaps organizations along the coast. It believes that livelihood 60 per cent of boat repairs along the coast were done and shelter are closely linked issues, and so there is a by SIS. SIS worked for the restoration of need to question the government order according to livelihoods, including the provision of boats, nets and which communities would not be supported to working capital and has begun construction of over reconstruct their houses in the 0-200-m zone, even 2,000 houses in two districts under the public-private though fishing communities had traditionally lived on partnership process with the Tamil Nadu government. these lands. ActionAid India was drawing attention to As a service provider, SIS has manufactured boats the problems being created by relocating fishing and also helped in supply of engines to other NGOs. communities far from their original hamlets. In The organization has set up boatbuilding facilities to Chennai, for example, communities had been resettled ensure availability of quality boats at reasonable prices. at a location that was completely flooded during the SIS has also worked with other NGOS in sectors recent rains. ActionAid India supports in situ such as agriculture (including with the organic farmers reconstruction, as in Sadraskuppam, where it is helping movement), and to support relief activities to dalit in the in situ reconstruction of 63 houses. ActionAid and Muslim families and women’s groups for post- India is partnering with organizations for rebuilding harvest activities. In its co-ordination role, SIS has houses, where the focus is on retrofitting and repair been instrumental in setting up the NGO Co- to increase safety. Amar also drew attention to the ordination and Resource Centre (NCRC) in tensions emerging between the old and the new Nagapattinam and the Kanyakumari Rehabilitation

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Resource Centre (KRRC) in Kanyakumari. SIS also Responding to a question, Rathnaweera explained links with the resource centre in Auroville, for that the people in a community who are already Villupuram district. SIS has also set up centres in undertaking boat repairs are identified and trained for Tirunelveli, Tuticorin, Chennai, Kollam in Kerala, and two to three days to build new fibre-reinforced plastic TRINet (Tsunami Rehabilitation Information (RP) boats, under the guidance of a technically Network) to co-ordinate information flow in Chennai. qualified person. The trainers prepare the moulds. The SIS is using the tsunami to pursue long-term marine engineer with the fisheries department is development work among the fisherfolk in the requested to check the quality of boats, mainly aspects affected area, and has started new societies in such as the quality of fibre used, the number of layers, Nagapattinam and Pondicherry, new boatyards, repair etc. No standards have been set by the isheries centres, ice plants, and so on. SIS has also come up Department for boat design. Practical Action has so with new boat models for offshore fishing with far built about 235 boats in the northern, southern inboard diesel engines, and a new canoe model for and eastern regions of Jaffna through pilot projects. inland fishermen. SNEHA, India Practical Action (formerly ITDG), Sri Lanka Kumaravelu said that Social Need Education and The presentation, by Erwin Crishantha Rathnaweera Human Awareness (SNEHA) is an organization highlighted some of key issues with regard to working in the coastal villages of Nagapattinam. replacement of fishing vessels and gear, that is: supply SNEHA has been working with children, to organize of fishing vessels that were not seaworthy, and SHGs, people’s movements, co-operatives, unions, etc. oversupply of fishing vessels; conflicts among Post-tsunami, it has focused on shelter issues and has fishermen; corruption and bureaucracy in selection of supported the repair/reconstruction of 7,150 houses. beneficiaries; and a lack of long-term orientation. It has provided seed money for carrier autorickshaws Practical Action works towards providing appropriate and income-generating activities, and care and technology options, and promotes an approach that psychosocial support for orphaned children. It has recognizes consultation and participation, specific also been engaged in various campaigns against tourism needs of communities, concerns about environment, development and the Sethusamudram Ship Canal disaster preparedness, sensitivity to conflict and the Project. SNEHA’s basic emphasis is on protecting the needs of people with disabilities. Apart from rights and livelihoods of fishworkers, especially their boatbuilding and housing, key areas of interventions rights to traditional habitats on the coast. SNEHA is have included community-based coastal resources part of the Coastal Action Network. management, micro-enterprises, waste management, ecosanitation, cycle-based transport options and Coastal Campaign, Norway rainwater harvesting. Gunnar Album of Coastal Campaign, Norway said Given the various kinds of conflicts between that he is currently working with a coalition of fisheries fishermen, such as between lagoon and marine organizations in Sri Lanka. He pointed out that there fishermen and between owners and crew, Practical is little reliable information about the size of the fishing Action adopted an approach to consult people to fleet in Sri Lanka after the tsunami. Even estimates of design and build their own boats. It identified the type the number of canoes destroyed, for example, have of boats used by the community after realizing that increased over time, as have the number pledged as many organizations had donated boats not suitable replacements. It appeared that the numbers reflect for local conditions. Information about designs what could be donated rather than how many were provided by the community was then verified with actually destroyed. There were also problems with the government. Practical Action has trained the incorrect distribution—for example, lagoon canoes community in boat manufacture—this helped in were donated to marine fishermen. There was great avoiding duplication of boats. This approach was also competition amongst INGOs and local NGOs. There used in other sectors such as housing and infrastructure is likely to be an oversupply of about 2,000 RP boats. development. Given that many of the boats being given as

256 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings NGO Meeting Report replacements were of poor quality, it was difficult to fishing gear in Aceh Jaya and Pidie. Cottage industries say how many will actually survive. It was also difficult for women have also been supported. Rizal raised to say why co-operatives accepted poor-quality boats. concerns about the small-mesh nets being used by Album said that most of Coastal Campaign’s work women in Pidie to catch shrimp in rivers. There was a was in the north and northeast of Sri Lanka, and need to shift fishing pressure to deeper waters, he focused on boat and engine repair. said.

Muslim Women’s Research and Action orum Bina Aneuk Nanggroe, Indonesia (MWRA ), Sri Lanka Muchtar Rodi Basyari Ibrahim explained that Bina Mohamed Sally Jaleel said that MWRA has been Aneuk Nanggroe works in Aceh, Indonesia. It is working on behalf of Muslim women, empowering supported by Oxfam and USAID for cash-for-work them by providing livelihood training and financial projects. Through the Oxfam project, it is building 50 assistance. Though women play an important role in boats, co-operating with a cluster of villages and fisheries, the compensation amounts distributed as working with a system of revolving funds. It is tsunami relief were handed over to the men, and no planning to distribute microcredit on a daily recovery help given to the women who were actually managing basis, focusing on fish vendors and small traders. the families. MWRA is working to help women Money will be given without any interest, according manage savings and to organize livelihood to Islamic principles. This is being planned for Pidie interventions. Prior to the tsunami, ownership of boats district under Banda Aceh, starting with 100 people. had been concentrated in a few hands. MWRA has, The organization is also working to rebuild schools therefore, worked to identify and organize fishermen destroyed or damaged by the tsunami. who had worked on a daily-wage basis, and has helped them to get boats. In addition, it has provided National ishworkers’ orum (N ), India other services. The government’s policy on the 200- T. Peter of N stressed that N was a political m buffer zone is a major problem, and INGOs and organization not involved directly in rehabilitation donors are reluctant to rebuild in this zone. MWRA, activities. It had joined hands with NGOs to protest a member of NASO, is currently campaigning to against the forcible eviction of fishers from the 200- get this decision changed. Most of the relief assistance 500-m coastal zone, stressing the right of fishing is going to politically well-connected people, as communities to the zone and the need to protect it international agencies insist on official letters from from tourism and other interests. N had worked government agencies before giving aid. Thus, some through its member unions in the States of Tamil people have received two boats, while others who Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. N was also actually lost boats, are finding it difficult to obtain extremely concerned about the long-term impact of even the letters. MWRA is trying to assist such persons the tsunami on fish habitats and coral reefs, and was who have been left out, to enable them to develop stressing the need for a comprehensive and scientific their livelihoods. study. N was also stressing the need for fisher organizations, NGOs, trade unions, the scientific Centre for Marine and ishery Studies, Syiah community, and the government to evolve a joint plan Kuala University, Banda Aceh, Indonesia to make use of tsunami funds. The Centre for Marine and ishery Studies has taken up projects in co-operation with Oxfam, the Session 2: Recommendations for post-tsunami University of Hamburg, Germany, the Worldfish rehabilitation of fishing communities Centre and the Coral Reef Degradation in the Indian This session was chaired by Herman Kumara of Ocean (CORDIO) project, said Syamsul Rizal, a NASO. He requested V. Vivekanandan to present professor at the Centre. The progress of the draft recommendations that had been prepared reconstruction in Aceh after the initial three months by the secretariat, based on the studies that had been has been slow. Through the Oxfam project, women undertaken in four countries on the post-tsunami and men have been supported with boats, canoes and situation of fishing communities. After the

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recommendations were presented, participants broke specific discussions. It was agreed that country-specific into country-based groups to discuss them, as well as recommendations would be presented after to discuss country-specific issues that would need to the presentation of study reports at the Regional be highlighted. The rapporteurs of each country group Workshop on Post-tsunami Rehabilitation of ishing met at the end of the discussion to integrate into the Communities and isheries-based Livelihoods on 18 and 19 general recommendations, issues arising from country- January 2006.

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Appendix 4 Regional Workshop on Post-tsunami Rehabilitation of ishing Communities and isheries-based Livelihoods IELD TRIP TO VILLUPURAM AND NAGAPATTINAM 20 to 22 January 2006

PROGRAMME

Day 1: riday, 20 January 2006 1045 – 1300 hrs Visit to Auroville – Aurolec/Centre for Scientific Research (CSR) a. Introduction to alternative building technologies b. Introduction to renewable energy programme

1300 – 1400 hrs LUNCH 1400 – 1600 hrs Visit to Auroville (contd.) a. Exposure visit to eco-restoration and watershed sites b. Introduction to Auroville Tsunami Rehabilitation Project

1600 – 1615 hrs TEA 1615 hrs Departure for Nagapattinam 2200 hrs Arrival at Nagapattinam Day 2: Saturday, 21 January 2006 0900 – 1100 hrs Presentation on the efforts of Nagapattinam district administration towards tsunami relief and rehabilitation by J. Radhakrishnan, District Collector, Nagapattinam 1100 – 1230 hrs Visit to SNEHA, an NGO working in Nagapattinam a. Presentation on the post-tsunami activities of SNEHA 1230 – 1400 hrs Visit to Akkarapettai, a fishing village a. Interaction with members of self-help groups

1400 – 1500 hrs LUNCH 1500 – 1800 hrs Visit to Village Information Centre 1800 – 2000 hrs Visit to NGO Co-ordination and Resource Centre (NCRC) Day 3: Sunday, 22 January 2006 0730 - 0900 Visit to Tharangambadi fishing village a. Visit to fish-landing centre b. Visit to SIS society c. Visit to SIS housing reconstruction site

0900 – 0930 hrs BREAKAST 0930 – 1030 hrs Overview of SIS housing reconstruction programme by Benny Kuriakose 1030 hrs Departure to Chennai

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Appendix 5 Regional Workshop on Post-tsunami Rehabilitation of ishing Communities and isheries-based Livelihoods IMAGE Auditorium, MRC Nagar, R A Puram, Chennai, India

18- 19 January 2006

LIST O PARTICIPANTS

INDIA 4. Annie George Chief Executive Officer 1. A. G. Gopalakrishnan NGO Coordination and Resource Center (NCRC) Scientist (isheries) 31, Mahalakshmi Nagar M.S. Swaminathan Research oundation South Palpannaichery 3rd Cross street Nagapattinam 611 001 Institutional area, Taramani Tamil Nadu Chennai 600 113 INDIA Tamil Nadu Tel: + 91 4365 252618 INDIA Mobile: +91 9345400074 Tel: + 91 44 22542698 [email protected] ax: + 91 44 22541319 [email protected] Email: [email protected] 5. Anuradha Vidyasankar 2. Ahana Lakshmi Tamil Nadu Tsunami Resource Centre (TNTRC) TRINET, C/o Bhoomika Trust No.5, Sivaganga Road lat No. 3A, Third loor Nungambakkam New No. 40/Old No.12 Chennai 600 034 Murrays Gate Road Tamil Nadu Alwarpet INDIA Chennai 600 018 Tel: + 91 44 2826 4141 Tamil Nadu ax: + 9144 2826 6161 INDIA Email [email protected] Tel: + 91 44 24981967 Mobile: + 91 44 9840740404 6. Arul Das Email: [email protected] Unorganised Workers ederation [email protected] No. 39, Dr.Alaggappa Road Purasawakkam 3. Amar Jyoti Chennai 600 084 ActionAid India Tamil Nadu Chennai Regional Office INDIA No.23, West Park Road Tel: + 91 44 26650544 / 55471562 Near Shenoy Nagar Post Office Email: [email protected] Shenoy Nagar Chennai 600 030 Tamil Nadu INDIA Tel: + 91 44 26191620 ax: + 91 44 26191621 Email [email protected]

260 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings List of Participants

7. Anthony Benchilas 12. H. Mohamad Kasim South Indian ederation of ishermen Societies Principal Scientist and Officer-in-Charge (SIS) Central Marine isheries Research Institute (CMRI) Karamana 75, Santhome High Road Thiruvananthapuram 695 002 Chennai 600 028 Kerala Tamil Nadu INDIA INDIA Tel: + 91 471 2343711 Tel: + 91 44 24617264 ax: + 91 471 2342053 ax: + 91 44 24617290 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]

8. B. Subramanian 13. K.M. Parivelan South Indian ederation of ishermen Societies Tamil Nadu Tsunami Resource Centre (TNTRC) (SIS) No.5, Sivaganga Road 12, Dhanalakshmi Avenue Nungambakkam 3rd Cross Street, Kasturba Nagar Chennai 600 034 Adyar, Tamil Nadu Chennai 600 020 INDIA Tamil Nadu Tel: + 91 44 2826 4141 / 2826 5151 INDIA ax: + 91 44 2826 6161 Tel: + 91 44 42117680 Email: [email protected] Mobile: + 91 9840942555 14. K. N. Tamil Kumar Email: [email protected] Tamil Nadu Tsunami Resource Centre (TNTRC) No.5, Sivaganga Road 9. C.M. Muralidharan Nungambakkam Unit Manager Chennai 600 034 Action for ood Production (APRO) Task orce Tamil Nadu Plot No. HP-8, BDA Locality INDIA Laxmi Sagar Tel: + 91 44 2826 4141 / 2826 5151 Bhubaneswar 751 006 ax: + 9144 2826 6161 Orissa Email: [email protected] INDIA Tel: + 91 674 2571465 / 2572194 15. Kumaravelu Email: [email protected] Trade Union Coordinator SNEHA 10. Devyani Chakrabarti 30, Kariangudi Chetty Street School of Architecture and Planning Velippalayam Anna University Nagapattinam 611 001 Sardar Patel Road Tamil Nadu Chennai 600 025 INDIA Tamil Nadu Tel: + 91 4365 248622 INDIA ax: + 91 4365 248675 Mobile: + 91 9840753787 Email [email protected] Email: [email protected] 16. Meera Sundararajan 11. Harekrishna Debnath Manager (Monitoring and Evaluation) National ishworkers’ orum (N) CARE - India 20/4, Sil Lane New No. 27 (Old No.17) Kolkata 700 015 Nagendra Nagar West Bengal Chennai 600 042 INDIA Tamil Nadu Tel: + 91 3216 221769 INDIA ax: + 91 33 2328 3989 Tel: + 91 44 55143770 Mobile Tel: +91 9434039599 ax: + 91 44 22447592 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 261 List of Participants

17. M. Subbu 22. N.V. Arun Construction Workers Building Centre School of Architecture and Planning 7/R-86, Muthamil Nagar Anna University Chennai 600 118 Sardar Patel Road Tamil Nadu Chennai 600 025 INDIA Tamil Nadu Tel: + 91 44 55449903 INDIA Email: [email protected] 23. Prashant Hedao 18. N.B. Gomathy Planning Coordinator reelance Consultant Auroville Tsunami Relief and Rehabilitation Project 603, Bahar Doordarshan Apartments Aurelec Gokuldham, Goregaon (East) Auroville 605 101 Mumbai 400 063 Tamil Nadu Maharashtra INDIA INDIA Tel: +91 413 2622297 / 2622184 Mobile: + 91 44 28203782 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] 24. P. Thaddeus Koriya 19. N. D. Koli South Indian ederation of ishermen Societies National ishworkers’ orum (N) (SIS) 13/2, Pitru Smruti Karamana 239 L.J.Road, Mahim Thiruvananthapuram 695 002 Mumbai 400 016 Kerala Maharashtra INDIA INDIA Tel: + 91 471 2343711 Tel: + 91 22 24363398 ax: + 91 471 2342053 ax: + 91 22 24324729 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] 25. P. Ramalingam 20. N. Hariharan Samudra Theera Matsya Karmikula Union B-10, Hiranya Apartments PO- Madanoor 68 Greenways Road Via- Eethamakala Chennai 600 028 Dist- Prakasham 523280 Tamil Nadu Andhra Pradesh INDIA INDIA Tel: + 91 44 42303279 Tel: + 91 8592 232008 Mobile: +91 9841238055 Mobile: +91 9440359338 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]

21. N. Radha 26. P. Thamizholi Executive Director M.S. Swaminathan Research oundation LEAD (League for Education and Development) 3 rd Cross Road, Institutional area No. 40, irst Street, Sri Ramapuram Taramani Tiruchirappally 620 006 Chennai 600 113 Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu INDIA INDIA Tel: + 91 431 2432803 Tel: + 91 44 22541229 ax: + 91 431 2432521 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] [email protected]

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27. Ram Mohan 32. Shanti Doraisamy NGO Coordination and Resource Centre (NCRC) TRINET 31, Mahalakshmi Nagar C/o Bhoomika Trust South Palpannaichery lat No. 3A, Third loor Nagapattinam 611 001 New No. 40/Old No.12 Tamil Nadu Murrays Gate Road INDIA Alwarpet Tel: + 91 4365 252579 Chennai 600 018 Mobile: + 91 9341220210 Tamil Nadu Email: [email protected], INDIA [email protected] Tel: + 91 44 24981967 Mobile: +91 9840261240 28. Saravanan Email: [email protected], Auroville Tsunami Relief and Rehabilitation [email protected] Aurelec 33. Sibu Mathew Auroville 605 101 Tsunami Relief & Rehabilitation Coordination Tamil Nadu (TRRC) INDIA 6, Vallabhai Road Tel: +91 413 2622297 Chokkikuklam Mobile: +91 936050343 Madurai 625 002 Email: [email protected] Tamil Nadu INDIA 29. S. Karuppa Swamy Tel: + 91 9842128521 Ramnad District isworkers’ Trade Union Email: [email protected] No.-7 North Street Near SVM Petrol Bunk 34. Sithara Khan Azad Valipattinam irst Secretary Ramanathapuram 623 504 Sri Lankan Deputy High Commission Tamil Nadu 196, TT K Road INDIA Alwarpet Tel: + 91 4567 229072 Chennai 600 018 Mobile: + 91 9443862360 Tamil Nadu INDIA 30. S. Sajith Tel: + 91 44 24987896 South Indian ederation of ishermen Societies ax: + 91 44 24987894 (SIS) Email: [email protected] Karamana Thiruvananthapuram 695 002 35. S.R. Kalavathy Kerala Unorganised Workers ederation INDIA No. 39, Dr.Alaggappa Road Tel: + 91 471 2343711 Purasawakkam ax: + 91 471 2342053 Chennai 600 084 Tamil Nadu Email: [email protected] INDIA Tel: + 91 44 26650544 31. Satish Babu Mobile: + 91 9444050071 South Indian ederation of ishermen Societies (SIS) 36. T. K. Rahiman Karamana A.P. Traditional ishworkers’ Union Thiruvananthapuram Door No. 2-11-7 Kerala 695 002 Shiva Ganesh Nagar (Near Apughar) INDIA Visakhapatnam 530 017 Tel: + 91 471 2343711 Andhra Pradesh Mobile: +91 9447027274 INDIA ax: + 91 471 2342053 Mobile: +91 9849286467 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 263 List of Participants

37. T. Peter 42. V. Sampath Kerala Independent ish Workers ederation Senior National Consultant (KSMT) isheries Project Cherureshmi Centre United Nations Development Programme Valiyathura P.O. Orissa Hub, UN House II Thiruvananthapuram 695 008 256, orest Park Kerala Bhubaneswar 751 009 INDIA Orissa Tel: +91 471 2505216 INDIA Email: [email protected] Tel: + 91 674 2595850 / 2595851 ax: + 91 674 2595254 38. T. Peter Das Email: [email protected] Tamil Nadu ishermen Union 43. V. S. Bahadur 13/2 Kesari Street (1st floor) ActionAid India Nagercoil 629 001 Chennai Regional Office Kanyakumari No.23, West Park Road Tamil Nadu Near Shenoy Nagar Post Office INDIA Shenoy Nagar Tel: + 91 4652 278188 Chennai 600030 Tamil Nadu 39. V. Dayalan INDIA Team Leader Tel: + 91 44 26191620 Development of Humane Action (DHAN) ax: + 91 44 26191621 23, West Park Road Mobile: +91 9444402195 Shenoy Nagar Email: [email protected] Chennai 600 030 Tamil Nadu INDIA GOVERNMENT O ANDHRA PRADESH Tel: + 91 44 22581849 44. P. Sundara Kumar Mobile: +91 9444063195 Commissioner of isheries Email: [email protected] Government of Andhra Pradesh Matsya Bhavan, Animal Husbandry Compound 40. Venkatesh Salagrama Shanthi Nagar 4th Main Street, Masab Tank Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) Hyderabad 500 028 64-16-3A Pratap Nagar Andhra Pradesh Kakinada 533 004 INDIA. Andhra Pradesh Tel: + 91 40 23308585 INDIA Email: [email protected] Tel: + 91 884 2364851 ax: +91 884 2354932 Email: [email protected], GOVERNMENT O TAMIL NADU [email protected] 45. R. Santhanam State Relief Commissioner 41. V. Vivekanandan (Special Commissioner and Commissioner of Chief Executive Revenue Administration) South Indian ederation of ishermen Societies Disaster Management and Mitigation Department (SIS) Government of Tamil Nadu Karamana Chepauk Thiruvananthapuram 695 002 Chennai 600 005 Kerala Tamil Nadu INDIA INDIA Tel: + 91 471 2343711 Tel: + 91 44 28523299/ 25361556 Mobile: +91 9847084840 ax: + 91 44 28546624 / 28511593 / 28511594 ax: + 91 471 2342053 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]

264 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings List of Participants

46. C. V. Sankar INDONESIA Officer on Special Duty (Relief and Rehabilitation) 50. auzi Ismail Zainal Abidin Government of Tamil Nadu Sahara oundation Chepauk Jl. Mesjid No 30 C Chennai 600 005 Lhoksuemawe 24352 Tamil Nadu INDONESIA INDIA Tel: + 62 645 43562 Tel: + 91 44 55515898 ax: + 62 645 43562 ax: + 91 44 28411654 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] 51. Hilde Janssen 47. Dharmendra Pratap Yadav Independent Journalist Director of isheries Jl. Kemang Raya 79A Directorate of isheries Jakarta Selatan 12730 Government of Tamil Nadu INDONESIA New Administrative Office Building Tel: + 62 21 71793221 DMS Campus Mobile: +62 812 9507247 Chennai 600 006 ax: + 62 21 71793221 Tamil Nadu Email: [email protected] INDIA Tel: + 91 44 2432 0791 52. Muchtar Rodi Basyari Ibrahim ax: + 91 44 2433 5585 Bina Aneuk Nanggroe Jl. Prof. A. Madjid Ibrahim 48. S. Noorjahan Beevi No. 15, Simpang Lingkar Sigli Directorate of isheries Tijue Government of Tamil Nadu Pidie New Administrative Office Building INDONESIA DMS Campus Tel: + 62 653 23615 Chennai 600 006 Email: [email protected] Tamil Nadu INDIA 53. Muhammad Adli Abdullah Tel: + 91 44 2432 0199 Secretary, Pangalima Laot Aceh ax: + 91 44 2433 5585 (Traditional Institution of ishing Community in Aceh) GOVERNMENT O INDIA Jl. T. Nyak Arief No. 25-26 A Pasar Lamnyong 49. Amarjit Banga Banda Aceh, Aceh Director (E&y Coord) INDONESIA Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Tel: + 62 651 7409692 isheries ax: + 62 651 635608 Ministry of Agriculture Email: [email protected] Room No: 346A, Krishi Bhawan Dr Rajendra Prasad Road 54. Muhammad Imran Amin New Delhi 110 001 Jaring Pela/Telepak INDIA Perkumpulan Telapak Tel: + 91 11 23097012 Jl. Palem Putri III No. 1-3, ax: +91 11 23097012 Taman Yasmin V, Bogor Email: [email protected], [email protected] West Java, INDONESIA–16112 Tel: + 62 251 715 9902 ax: + 62 251 753 7577 Email: [email protected]

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 265 List of Participants

55. Muhammad Nawir PHILIPPINES Urban Poor Linkage (Uplink) 60. Elmer M. errer Urban Poor Consortium CBCRM Resource Center (Konsorsium Kemiskinan Kota) University of The Philippines Komplek Billymoon Blok H1-7 13 A, Maaralin Street, Barangay Central Pondok Kelapa East Jakarta 13450 Diliman, Quezon City INDONESIA PHILIPPINES Tel: + 62 21 8642915/ 86902407 Tel: + 63 2 9203368 ax: + 62 21 86902408 ax: + 63 2 929 24 77 Email:[email protected], [email protected] Email: [email protected], 56. Sag Sofyan [email protected] Wahana Lingkungan Hidup Indonesia (WALHI) Tegal Parang Utara No 14 SRI LANKA Jakarta 12790 61. Augustine Sosai Siluvaitharsan INDONESIA Department of Geography Tel: + 62 21 794 1672 University of Jaffna ax: + 62 21 794 1673 10/2, A, Sivankovil Road Email: [email protected], [email protected] Kantharmadam Jaffna 57. Syamsul Rizal SRI LANKA Center for Marine and ishery Studies Tel: + 94 21 2225317 Universitas Syiah Kuala ax: + 94 21 2222936 Gedung KPA Email: [email protected] Unsyiah Darussalam Banda Aceh 62. Erwin Crishantha Rathnaweera INDONESIA Intermediate Technology Development Group Tel: + 62 651 7428680 (ITDG) Mobile: +62 85260248440 South Asia, Practical Action Email: [email protected] No. 5, Lionel Edirisinghe Mawatha Kirulapone GOVERNMENT O INDONESIA Colombo 5 SRI LANKA 58. Saut P. Hutagalung Tel: + 94 11 2829 412 Director of Planning and International Cooperation ax: + 94 11 2856188 Bureau Email: [email protected], [email protected] Ministry of Marine Affairs and isheries Jl. Medan Merdeka Timur No. 16 63. Jayantha Rathnakumara Gunasekera Jakarta Pusat Intermediate Technology Development Group INDONESIA (ITDG) Tel: + 62 21 3520337 South Asia, Practical Action ax: + 62 21 3520337 No. 5, Lionel Edirisinghe Mawatha Email: [email protected] Kirulapone, Colombo 5 SRI LANKA MALDIVES Tel: + 94 11 2829 412 GOVERNMENT O MALDIVES ax: + 94 11 2856 188 59. athimath Shafeega Email: [email protected], [email protected] Assistant Director Ministry of isheries 64. Lokuyaddehige Wasantha Agriculture and Marine Resources National isheries Solidarity (NASO) Ghazee Building, Ground floor No. 10, Malwatta Road Ameer Ahmed Magu, Male’ Negombo MALDIVES SRI LANKA Tel: + 960 33 22625 / 3316340 Tel: + 94 31 2239750 ax: + 96 - 0 – 3326558 ax: + 94 31 4872692 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]

266 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings List of Participants

65. Mohamed Sally Jaleel 70. Duangkamol Sirisook Muslim Women’s Research and Action orum Sustainable Development oundation (SD) (MWRA) 86, Ladpraw 110 (yeak 2) East-Based Coordination Office Ladpraw Road, Wangtonglang 494 Moulana Road Bangkok 10310 Sainthamaruthu THAILAND 14, Kalmunai. Tel: + 66 2 9352983 SRI LANKA ax: + 66 2 9352980 Telefax: + 94 67 2224600 Email: [email protected], Email: [email protected], [email protected] [email protected]

66. Oscar Amarasinghe 71. Naiyana Prapaiwong Senior Lecturer, (Agricultural Economics) Save Andaman Network (SAN) aculty of Agriculture 160/ 9 Praram 6th Road University of Ruhuna Tambon Tab Tieng Mapalana Ampur Muang, Taptheang Kamburupitiya Trang 92000 SRI LANKA THAILAND Tel: + 94 41 2292200 Tel: + 66 75 220471 ax: + 94 41 2223606 ax: + 66 75 220471 Email: [email protected] [email protected]

67. Wijethunge Herman Kumara 72. Naowares Chaonampad Convener, National isheries Solidarity (NASO) Save Andaman Network (SAN) No. 10, Malwatta Road 160/ 9 Praram 9 Road Negombo Tambon Tab Tieng SRI LANKA Ampur Muang Tel: + 94 31 2239750 Trang 92000 ax: + 94 31 4872692 THAILAND Email: [email protected] Tel: + 66 75 220471 ax: + 66 75 220471 GOVERNMENT O SRI LANKA Email: [email protected]

68. Ranepura Hewage Piyasena 73. Pisit Charnsnoh Additional Secretary (Development) Yadfon Association Ministry of isheries and Aquatic Resources 16/8 Rakchan Road Maligawatta Secretariat Muang District Colombo 10 Trang Province 92000 SRI LANKA THAILAND Tel: + 94 11 2437948 Tel: + 66 75 219737 ax: + 94 11 2437948 ax: + 66 75 219327 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]

74. Saowalak Prathumthong THAILAND Save Andaman Network (SAN) 69. Dawan Sanlee 160/ 9 Praram 6th Road Save Andaman Network (SAN) Tambon Tab Tieng 8/3 Cockan Road Ampur Muang Tambon Thap Tieng Taptheang Ampur Muang Trang 92000 Trang Province 92000 THAILAND THAILAND Tel: + 66 75 220471 Tel: + 66 - 75 – 212414 ax: + 66 75 220471 ax: + 66 - 75 – 212414 Email: [email protected], Email: [email protected] [email protected]

ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings 267 List of Participants

GOVERNMENT O THAILAND 79. Grant Milne World Bank 75. Waraporn Prompoj 1818 H Street, NW Chief, International Cooperation Group Washington D.C.20433 isheries oreign Affairs Division USA Department of isheries Tel: + 1 202 458 1284 Kasert-klang, Phaholyotin Road Email: [email protected] Chatuchak Bangkok 10900 80. M. Srinath THAILAND United Nations Development Programme(UNDP) Tel: + 66 2 5620529 United Nations Team for Recovery Support Apex Towers, 4th loor ax: + 66 2 5620554 54, 2nd Main Road Email: [email protected] R.A. Puram Chennai 600 028 MULTILATERAL/INTER-GOVERNMENTAL Tamil Nadu ORGANIZATIONS INDIA Tel: + 91 44 42303551 76. Deepak Singh ax: + 91 44 42303556 Asian Development Bank (ADB) Email: [email protected] 5th floor, Apex Towers 2nd Main Road, R.A. Puram 81. Philip Gordon Townsley Chennai 600 028 IMM Ltd Tamil Nadu Via Roma 21 INDIA 01100 Viterbo Tel: + 91 44 52303991 ITALY ax: + 91 44 52303996 Tel: +39 761 346066 Email: [email protected] Mobile: +39 329 6291816 E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] 77. Derek Staples Senior isheries Officer 82. S.V. Anil Das AO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific Livelihood Specialist Maliwan Mansion Asian Development Bank (ADB) 39 Phra Attit Road Extended Mission in Tamil Nadu Bangkok 10200 5th floor, Apex Towers THAILAND 2nd Main Road, R.A. Puram Tel: + 66 2 697 4119 Chennai 600 028 ax: + 66 2 697 4445 Tamil Nadu Mobile: + 66 18275769 INDIA Email: [email protected] Tel: + 91 44 42303991 ax: + 91 44 42303996 78. Didier Trebucq Email: [email protected] United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 83. Y S Yadava Apex Towers, 4th loor Director No. 54, 2nd Main Road Bay of Bengal Programme R.A. Puram Inter-Governmental Organisation Chennai 600 028 91 St. Mary’s Road Tamil Nadu Abhiramapuram INDIA Chennai 600 018 Tel: + 91 44 42303551 Tamil Nadu Mobile: +91 9840906791 INDIA ax: + 91 44 42303556 Tel: + 91 44 24936188 / 24936294 Email: [email protected] ax: + 91 44 24936102 Email: [email protected], [email protected]

268 ICSF Post-tsunami Rehab Workshop Proceedings List of Participants

OTHER ORGANIZATIONS 89. Sebastian Mathew Programme Adviser 84. Arthur Neiland ICS Institute for Sustainable Development and Aquatic 27, College Road Resources (IDDRA) Chennai 600 006 Portsmouth Technopole Tamil Nadu Kingston Crescent INDIA Portsmouth England 90. Venugopalan N. United Kingdom Consultant Tel: + 44 2392 658201 ICS Documentation Centre ax: + 44 2392 658201 ICS Email: [email protected] 27 College Road Chennai 600 006 85. Imelda Abarquez Tamil Nadu Oxfam Hong Kong INDIA 17 , China United Centre 28 Marble Road 91. Neena Elizabeth Koshy North Point Programme Associate HONG KONG ICS Documentation Centre Tel: + 852- 3120 5256 ICS Email: [email protected], 27 College Road [email protected] Chennai 600 006 Tamil Nadu OBSERVERS INDIA 86. Gunnar Album 92. K. Karthegheyan Barents Sea Office Accounts Assistant 8285 Leines ICS Norway 27, College Road Tel: + 47 75 778 410 Chennai 600 006 Mobile: + 47 9 775 6810 Tamil Nadu Email: [email protected] INDIA

ICS SECRETARIAT 93. P. Santhosh Kumar Documentation Assistant 87. Chandrika Sharma ICS Documentation Centre Executive Secretary ICS ICS 27, College Road 27 College Road Chennai Chennai 600 006 Tamil Nadu 600 006 Tamil Nadu INDIA INDIA Tel: +91 44 28275303 94. R. Deepak ax: +91 44 28254457 Office Assistant Email: [email protected] ICS 27, College Road 88. Pamela Gordon Chennai Office Secretary Tamil Nadu 600 006 ICS INDIA 27, College Road Chennai 600 006 Tamil Nadu INDIA

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